Till the World Stops Turning
by sperby2013
Summary: The story of Tony Almeida and Michelle Dessler from first sight to time spent at CTU before they started dating. How did their relationship begin? Full of love, fun and fluff. Please R/R!
1. Chapter 1: The Interview

**Chapter 1**

_The Interview_

_Pre-season 2:_

Tony did NOT want to be here right now. He was pretty sure that slamming his head against the wall would be more entertaining than listen to this woman drag on and on. Besides the fact that this woman was boring him to tears, just being in this room and dealing with the selection process had Tony so anxious he was sweating. He hadn't even wanted to come to work today. His boss, George Mason, was making him sit in on all of the interviews for the new Internet Protocol Manager…Nina's replacement. At first, he was adamant that he wanted no part in the selection process.

"_I still don't see why I need to have any part in this," Tony said firmly. "You're Director of CTU."_

"_Because," George replied, "you're second in command, and will be working directly with whoever we hire, not to mention training them yourself. You're a crucial part of this decision, Tony."_

_Tony sighed and scratched the side of his face. He paused and was about to say something in rebuttal before George interrupted him._

"_Look, Tony," he whispered quietly, "I understand your hesitation, I really do. I can't even imagine what you must be feeling, especially after everything that happened with Ni-_

"_Don't." Tony interrupted quietly. He closed his eyes and tried to keep his cool._

_George took a deep breath. "Fine," he replied. "I understand the pain you're going through, but if you're going to stay in this job I need you to pull it together and move on. Forget about everything that happened in the past. Stuff like this happen every single day, and you need to develop thicker skin if you're going to do this job well," he paused for a second. "We all do."_

_George waited for Tony's response. A million things were running through his head; the image of Jack rocking his wife's dead body, crying. Kim standing near a pool of blood and fainting. Agents lying dead in the field. All because of her hand…he snapped himself out of it and finally sighed in submission._

"_Alright, fine. As long as I get to have some say in who we hire, and we do this on MY terms."_

"_Agreed." They began to walk towards the interview rooms where there were already four people lined up. At the sight of potential employees George could feel Tony begin to tense._

"_Just relax," he said. "Think of everything that happened as a lesson for the future." Tony looked at him through the corner of his eye as they walked into the room and sat down next to each other. He was still deeply hurt about Nina's betrayal, and just the thought of someone ever doing that again made his stomach do a back flip. He felt like he couldn't trust anyone ever since that day, and it scared him. He felt empty, and didn't think feeling would ever return._

So here he was. Two and a half hours later, and their sixth interview. What frustrated Tony even more than all of this was that, as of right now, this woman was their best candidate. He couldn't possibly imagine ever working with her; the second she walked into the room, she practically began to break down crying. She was old, at least in her mid-fifties, and smelt like his grandmother's house. She had old, crusty features, and was…large, to say the least. He had only been sitting in the room for fifteen minutes and already had the ability to make him want to scream at the top of his lungs. Tony had never been known for being very patient, but this woman definitely pushed him to the edge. Although she had the experience and credentials, there was no way he was going to tolerate working with her everyday; he might end up driving off a cliff.

Finally he had had enough of her rambling and mumbling, and was sure George had seen enough to know that this was not the right choice when he interrupted her,

"Thank you very much miss, er," he glanced down at the application. "Ms. Revere. We will have someone contact you by the end of next week." He smiled sweetly as the guard led her out of the room. Tony was sure she was about to go into a heart attack by the nervous look on her face.

When the door finally shut, Tony rubbed his palms into his eyes. "Ugh" he mumbled. "I thought that would never end."

George began flipping through her application again, and replied with "you do realize she is the best applicant we have as of right now?"

"Don't remind me" Tony growled. "Who's next?"

George began flipping through his papers once again and replied, "our last interview is someone named Michelle Dessler. Good credentials, excellent recommendations from Brad Hammond at Division. Degree in computer science from UC…"

Tony was getting bored already. It wasn't that he wasn't interested, but was ready to have this day over with and interviews finished. The worst part of being Chief of Staff at CTU was the amount of paperwork, filing, boring meetings and stupid responsibilities such as hiring new employees. He was only interested in the action, that's what kept him going.

He could already picture what this next interview was going to be like; another half an hour of listening to some forty year old talk about her life, family, experience, etc. He hoped she'd be a little more interesting than that Joan Revere who was just in. This woman was literally their last hope.

He stood up and walked to the break room near the entrance of the building. He poured himself a cup of black coffee in his favorite Cubs mug and took a huge gulp. He began thinking about how he actually kind of liked the name Michelle…it had a nice ring to it. A steady flow that just right rolled off the tongue. As he began walking back into the center of the building, he heard an unfamiliar clicking noise behind him. Tony turned around and saw a small, gorgeous young woman walk into the building. She had a mess of curls neatly pinned back behind her head, and looked very professional in a business suit and skirt. Tony stopped dead. He had no idea who this woman was, but was blown away by her simple yet elegant beauty. She had a creamy complexion and a perfectly thin body. Her cheekbones were high on her face, perfectly pink, and even from the distance he was at he could see her sparkling eyes. They were a deep brown, but with hints of gold. But it wasn't this woman's physical beauty that struck him. The second that he looked at her, that empty feeling Tony had bottled up inside for so many months, seemed to just disappear. He looked at this woman who he had never seen before in his life and felt instantly happier. She looked over in his direction and flashed a sweet, small smile at him. He felt his knees go weak, and his heart began to beat faster. He took in a sharp breath, and noticed that every other guy in the room was also staring at her, checking her out up and down. Suddenly he felt a weight slam him back down onto earth, and could hear the normal sounds of the office return. Tony hadn't realized it, but while he had been watching this woman he felt like he was walking on air, there was no sound, no one in the room except him and this…this girl. The phones continued to ring off the hook, conversation continued between colleagues, stimuli surrounded him everywhere; but what brought him crashing down to reality were the hungry eyes of every other guy in the office. Tony felt sick to his stomach at just the thought of these wolves looking at something so innocent, and was reminded to breathe by the sudden constriction he felt in his chest. He took a deep breath, and continued to watch the woman as she went to the front desk, asked a question, and turned toward…the interview room.

"Oh shit" he thought.

Tony felt a sudden pit drop in his stomach. "No, no it can't be" he said to himself. "There's no way _she's_ the next interview." He walked briskly back to the interview room and saw her enter through the glass window. She shook hands with George and sat down, a pleasant smile on her face. George began looking around, saw Tony through the window, and waved for him to come in.

Tony was frozen in place. There was no way he could do this. It was going to be impossible for him to sit through an interview with this woman across from him. She was absolutely beautiful, and what if she was perfect for the job? What if George ended up hiring her? Tony couldn't deal with falling for someone else, especially anyone at CTU…with the same job Nina had. He could tell deep inside that he would fall for her…eventually.

George peered through the glass and looked at Tony deeply. He could tell something was wrong, but this was not the time for Tony to have a freak out. George waved to him one more time, getting annoyed, and finally Tony began to put one foot in front of the other, open the door, shake hands with the woman and quietly sit down with folded hands.

_Flashback:_

Michelle was so nervous for this interview. It usually wasn't like her to get anxious about stuff like this, but it was something about this place, this job…it definitely was a reach for her, but she knew that if she worked hard enough she could do it.

She wanted this job more than anything. Ever since she had started training to become an agent she heard about CTU Los Angeles as one of the finest counter-terrorism agencies. She had met friends at Division who had given her excellent recommendations, and had reassured her that she had this job in the bag, but she was still nervous. The IPM was a huge position, and she was sure that they probably had dozens, maybe hundreds, of applicants lined up. She knew she needed to impress them from the first time she stepped into the door.

When she opened the door to CTU, a cool wave of air hit her, and she began clicking down the hall in her small heels with her bag slung across her shoulder and her application in a manila folder in her hand. She clipped her Visitor pass on and made her way to the front desk. Michelle looked very professional, and had spent all morning picking out the perfect outfit; something that showed she meant business but still showed off a little of her pretty side. As she clicked down the hall and entered the main office she saw the number of people walking around, and absorbed the business-y atmosphere that surrounded her. She smiled to herself. "This," she thought, "is perfect."

As Michelle continued to the main desk, she passed a young man standing near what looked like a break room. He was holding a Chicago Cubs coffee mug, and he stared at her as she walked by.

She couldn't help but blush a little. This man was obviously very, very handsome. He had thick, curly black hair, which she loved, and a muscular yet proportional figure. His eyes seemed to penetrate right through her; she was taken aback about how this man seemed to see right into her soul. As this thought she turned even redder, so she made a quick smile and turned her back toward him as she walked to the front desk. She could still feel his eyes staring right through her, but strangely she could tell that he wasn't checking her out (like every other guy in the office). He seemed to just be staring at her, but…she really didn't mind it that much (although she was a little embarrassed). The moment wasn't awkward in any way, it felt very…natural. Michelle thought this was so odd. She reached the outside of the glass interview room and decided she should stop over-analyzing the silliest of situations – what she normally did – and focus on her interview. She took a deep breath and walked in. Michelle introduced herself to George Mason, and took a seat.

She gave him a pleasant smile, hoping to ease her nerves. She was very nervous just looking at this guy; he seemed very fierce and rough around the edges, and hoped that she wasn't giving off the vibes that were buzzing through her. As she concentrated on relaxing herself and focusing what was at stake, she heard George mumble something about needing to find his partner. She saw him look out the window and wave for someone to come inside. Michelle sat patiently in her seat, and hoped George's partner was a little less intense than him. She was shocked to see the man she passed earlier slowly make his way inside. Without looking at her, he leaned over and shook her hand. His hand was large and firm, yet his grasp was gentle. "Hey" he mumbled. Even though this guy wouldn't even look at her, she somehow felt more relaxed with him being in the room. As he made his way over to his chair, she replied with "good morning, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Michelle Dessler."

_Present time:_

Tony sat quietly with his hands folded. The woman introduced herself as Michelle, and he was enamored with the smooth, clear sound of her voice. He cleared his throat and replied "uh, hi. I'm Tony. Tony Almeida. I'm the Chief of Staff here. I'm sure you've already met George…" He attempted to hand the conversation over to Mason, but his efforts were futile; Mason was pretending to text someone underneath the table. It was obvious to Tony what George was trying to do; he was trying to get Tony to take the initiative, move on with his life and deal with the present situation. George could tell how uncomfortable Tony was sitting across from Michelle, but hoped that he would suck it up and start trusting other people again. It was a long shot, but it was worthwhile. Tony took a deep breath and began to ask questions.

As the interview continued, Tony kept stealing glances at Michelle. He was really starting to like her, not only as a candidate but also as a person. She was a genuinely sweet, funny person, but was dedicated to her job wholeheartedly, which he admired a great deal. Several times he caught himself staring into her eyes as she would talk to George, and would just get lost in them. They were so deep, and said so much about her. Tony quickly got over being uncomfortable around her, although it scared him to put his guard down. He was amazed about how easily this stranger was able to open him up just through her presence.

When the interview was finally over, Tony walked Michelle over to the door, thanked her for coming, and turned around to find George already on the phone.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

"Calling District. Telling them we've chosen Michelle as our new Internet Protocol Manager."

"What?" Tony responded. Immediately the fear returned. There was no way Tony was going to be able to work with this woman every day and not fall for her. The thought of feeling anything for anyone scared him.

He walked over to where George was making his call and disconnected the phone line.

"Tony, what the hell are you doing?"

"We can't do this, George. We haven't even thought it through."

"What is there to think through? She's the perfect candidate! She has all of the right credentials, and is extremely dedicated to her work. She's young, passionate, and to be frank, drop dead gorgeous, which we can use to our advantage. We could get her trained in field ops as a backup for any of our…sticky situations."

At this Tony stopped dead in his tracts. "Field ops?" he responded. There was NO way George was sending Michelle into the field…ever. Just the thought of her being put in danger like that scared the shit out of him. Anger began boiling up inside.

"Yes." Mason replied. "As of right now, we only have one female, Agent Cooper, trained in special cases, and we could use Michelle as cover, back-up, even send her in on active duty."

This made Tony even more furious. He knew exactly what George meant…Michelle was pretty enough to be sent in as a prostitute, private escort, strip club dancer…basically anything that they needed her for. She would be used as bait to lure in and trap potential terrorists using her…her body.

"That's sick, George, and you know it." He was practically yelling at him now. "If we hire Michelle, she will stay in the office where she's supposed to. We're here to hire a new IPM, not some chick to use as bait for scumbags!" His blood was coursing through his veins. His pulse was pounding. He couldn't believe he was yelling at his own boss like this, but if he didn't, who would? Who else would protect Michelle?

"Tony," George said trying to calm him down, "take it easy. Of course, Michelle's first priority will be her duty as third in command and Internet Protocol Manager…but all of our IPM's over the last decade have had trained in field ops as precautionary measures, and that's not about to change now. Michelle is the best choice for the job. Come on, do you really want to send someone as old as Joan Revere into the _field_?"

Tony began to argue again, but George put up his hand and stopped him.

"Listen carefully, Tony. Michelle's training in field ops in non-negotiable, end of story. However, we can work out how often she will be brought in."

Tony's fists began to unclench. He responded immediately through gritted teeth, "On a last-resort basis." He thought for a second, and added for a valid excuse, "I need the head of my team in the office at all times, not to be distracted or removed."

"Fair enough" George said. He pulled out the papers and said, "now, can you plug the phone back in so I can call District and have them write up a contract?"

_Flashback:_

Michelle walked out of the room feeling as confident as ever. She knew she had the job in the bag, or hoped she did. Tony held the door open for her, and as she walked past she stole of sniff of his cologne. She closed her eyes and was intoxicated by the fresh and wholesome scent that filled her. She continued to walk out of the office and into her car, with a smile on her face. When she arrived back at her apartment, she saw she had a missed call. She listened to the message with a huge grin on her face; District was on the line, congratulating her on her new position as Internet Protocol Manager of CTU Los Angeles.


	2. Chapter 2: New Beginnings

**Chapter 2**

_New Beginnings_

_3 weeks later:_

Michelle walked into CTU, ready more than ever for her first day on the job. She walked in, shook hands with George Mason, and he began to show her around. As they walked over to the office area, he began to introduce her as the new Internet Protocol Manager to everyone in the bullpen. She had the biggest smile on her face. Today was one of the best days of her life.

Michelle shook hands with so many people, she couldn't keep track. Finally Mason said he'd show her to her new desk, and she began to settle in. After about half an hour of familiarizing herself with the new system, she heard someone approach behind her. She turned around in her seat to see the man she had met on the day of her interview standing over her. Immediately she recognized him, and stood up. This man was her new boss, and realized she needed to impress him with everything she knew as they shook hands. He smiled softly as her and said "In case you don't remember, my name's Tony Almeida, and I'm your Chief of Staff. We'll be working pretty closely from now on, so if you need anything don't hesitate to ask." She nodded in agreement and looked forward to working with him. "Thank you very much, sir." She could tell Tony seemed much more relaxed than her previous bosses, and hoped he would be as friendly as he seemed.

A few hours later Tony returned to her desk and handed her a schedule. He seemed hesitant at first but then finally let go of the piece of paper.

"These are the dates of your field ops training. It will include everything from firearms to physical combat to intelligence gathering. Some days will consist of just classroom lessons, but on the highlighted ones, I suggest you bring in sweats or something; that's when we'll have your physical fitness evaluation." He paused. "Your training will also include some hands-on material, so leave a change of clothes in the women's locker room, along with any supplies you may need."

"Okay" she nodded pleasantly. Michelle was actually looking forward to the training; she had done a little field ops work back at Division, and enjoyed getting out of the office every once in a while. Although this seemed much more intense, she hoped it wouldn't be too bad.

Tony could see a little anxiety on her face, so he attempted to reassure her. "Don't worry about any of it. From looking at your records, the training will be nothing for you. And as for the hands on lessons," he joked a little in an attempt to make her laugh, "you get to beat up your boss, so what could be better?"

Her mouth dropped to the floor. "Wait…" she stammered. "_You're_ my partner for training?" it wasn't that she was upset about it; actually it made her feel a lot better knowing that she would be fighting someone she knew. "I thought you were already a fully trained agent…"

"I am" he responded, laughing at the look of shock on her face. "But they didn't have anyone to play the 'beat-me-up' dummy for the day, so I signed up." Actually that was a lie; CTU's policy was to always have a stunt man around for training sessions, but Tony had talked his way into replacing him for a day so he could keep his eye on Michelle. "I hope that's okay or doesn't make you uncomfortable or anything…"

"No, no, no!" She started laughing, and Tony smiled, glad that he was able to make her laugh. "I think you misunderstood me, sir. I guess I was just shocked that my boss was going to be my partner in combat training. In fact, I'd rather have someone I know there, so…thank you very much, Mr. Almeida."

Tony smiled even more. He was really starting to like Michelle. "No problem" he replied. As he began to walk back to his desk, he turned around and said, "Oh, Michelle…" Michelle froze where she was and listened. "you don't have to think of me as some really strict boss. I mean, I know in Division they work by the book and you're turning around every second to make sure Ryan Chappelle isn't breathing down your neck…" Michelle laughed at his blunt but true statement. "but here, I like to keep things a little more relaxed. So no need to call me 'sir' or 'Mr. Almeida' or anything. Just Tony is fine. And don't forget, if you need anything, I'm right over there" he said pointing to his desk.

Michelle smiled big and said, "sure, no problem. Thanks again…Tony."

As the weeks past, Michelle looked up to Tony as a mentor, big brother, guide, and friend. She became so comfortable around him. Working or talking to him felt so natural. They had developed a routine; she would walk past his desk every morning at 7 am on the dot, him arriving only minutes before. As she went to get them both coffee, he would wait at her desk with the latest updates of whatever threat they were working on. Even though Tony was technically her boss, she didn't think of him in that way; she even felt comfortable enough to joke around with him, tease him, playfully hit him…something she could never even imagine doing with Ryan Chappelle. Michelle found she was more sarcastic than ever since she had met Tony, probably a trait she had picked up from him. The way she acted even surprised herself.

When she walked into work that day, she didn't feel as if anything were different. It seemed like an average day at the office, only difference was today she began her field training. Michelle was actually excited to get some hands-on experience with what she worked with every single day. As she walked past Tony's desk, he seemed deeply concentrated on whatever he was reading. "Good morning, Tony" she said as usually as she made her way to her desk. Tony glanced up to smile slightly at her, a futile attempt at being friendly before his third cup of coffee. Michelle knew there was no way Tony could function with at least three cups of Joe running through his system, so she hurried over to the break room, found his favorite Cubs mug and one for her, and poured them both a cup, leaving his black. As she walked back over to her desk, Tony was, of course, waiting there with a file in his hand. He immediately began to chug the coffee while Michelle took a dainty sip, put it down and flipped through the file. Her eyes squinted in confusion as she read the papers.

"What are these?" she asked.

Tony took another huge gulp and swallowed. He hesitated for a moment."Those…are some instructions and waivers for the course. I'll just need you to read them over and sign them so I can bring them over to the director." He scratched the side of his face nervously, without looking at her.

Michelle thought he was acting kind of strange. "Okay, sure, no problem." She sat down and began flipping through the papers. After a few moments sure turned around and saw Tony was still standing behind her, staring at her awkwardly. "Is there anything else?" she asked, genuinely confused and concerned. He didn't look right at her and avoided her stare. He snapped out of his thoughts and forced himself to enter reality again.

"It's just, umm…" Tony didn't know what to say. There was no way he could tell her he had been staring at her because he was scared that she would be hurt. She was so delicate, so light and fragile, he couldn't ever picture her with a gun in her hand or fighting off some 300 lb guy. Just from working with her for the short time they had Tony knew that she was tougher than she looked; she had skin thick as steel, a soul full of passion, and a heart of gold, not to mention the ability to keep it together when everything was falling apart. She was dedicated to whatever she set her mind to, and practically looked fear straight in the eye. She was stronger than she looked, but Tony still could not get himself to feel comfortable with the idea of her going into active duty…even training. It helped him a little just knowing that he would be there.

"Umm…I just wanted to wish you good luck today. You know, with your training and all." He was embarrassed that she had caught him staring at her.

Michelle smiled big. "What?" she said playfully. "Is the big strong Agent Tony Almeida scared of a tiny little girl beating him up?"

Tony laughed out loud. "Oh, is that what you think? Let me tell you something, sister, I can bring you down if I wanted to."

"Oh really? Well then we'll just have to wait and see then." She stood up and placed her hand on his shoulder as she began to walk away. "And just so you're fair warned…I don't plan on going easy on you or anything." She smiled sarcastically and walked over to check on any active protocols.

Tony looked over his shoulder and watched her. Did she have any idea how beautiful…how _sexy_ she was? It took his entire will power not to crumble to his knees at just the sound of her voice or the sincerity of her smile. "Bring it" he whispered to himself.


	3. Chapter 3: Training Day

**Chapter 3**

_Training Day_

_Later that day:_

Michelle changed in the locker room and walked out onto the floor of the gym with her workout bag slung across her shoulder. She was dressed in a casual ribbed tee, with a comfy pair of shorts. She threw her nicely curled hair up into a ponytail on the top of her head and removed her jewelry for precautionary measures. As she took a sip from her water bottle, she turned and saw Tony enter from the men's locker room. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she saw him walk over to the water fountain, barefoot, in a black pair of sweat pants and a casual white tee shirt.

Michelle had never seen him before without a collared shirt or a pair of loafers. Just seeing him in casual clothes made her heart beat a little faster. She felt a little embarrassed in wearing a tight wife beater and shorts, but also felt more connected to him somehow. She had always been comfortable and natural around him, but especially now, she felt like she could be…herself. There were not many people in Michelle's life who she felt like she could be herself around, not even her past boyfriends. She had always felt like she was putting on a show, giving a fake smile, pretending to listen intently. But with Tony…Michelle had never felt more like herself in front of anyone before.

Tony turned around and saw Michelle standing on the other side of the gym, and she gave him a little wave. He smiled, and saw what she was wearing. He felt his heart drop into his stomach.

She looked absolutely beautiful in her workout clothes, he only wished that he could, for once, see her with her hair down, untamed. He constantly wondered what it looked liked without being pinned back.

He began to walk over to her, and felt his knees begin to shake slightly as he tried to keep his composure. He was an emotional and physical wreck just looking at her; how the hell was he supposed to keep it together when he was possibly _touching_ her? Tony started to panic a little, but was relaxed the second he reached where she was standing. Her presence washed a great sense of relief over him. She smiled at him.

"Well, Tony, don't you look spiffy in your sweats?" she teased. She touched the bottom of his cotton tee and rubbed it between her fingers. The material was so soft.

Tony looked down at her hand, and she swiftly pulled it back, realizing her mistake. Did that push the boss/employee boundary? Was that too much…even for someone like him?

Tony touched the same spot where her fingers were. The heat from her hand still lingered in the fabric. He looked back up and saw her hesitation. "Yeah, well, I can't sleep in a dry cleaned shirt _every_ night" hoping to clear the awkwardness.

At this she laughed, and instantly relaxed. Tony loved to make her laugh; he thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. He was glad that he was able to do that every once in a while; she deserved it.

They both heard the sound of a whistle and turned to see their instructor enter the room. He was a very large, stocky guy, with rippling muscles and an intense stair. His face was stone cold, and head shaved to a crew cut, probably an ex-Navy Seal.

There were about a dozen people in the class, all huddled together on the mats, sitting Indian style. Tony sat down next to Michelle, their knees barely touching. He was easily bored and zoned out of what the instructor, Robert, was saying. He was snapped back to reality by Michelle nudging him gently, whispering "Tony. Tony!" He looked up at Robert who was waving for Tony to stand. Tony stood up, walked to the front of the class, and Robert introduced him as today's demonstrator. A painful look crossed his face as he remembered that he had to be the dummy for everyone in the class, not just Michelle. Michelle noticed his twisted face and began giggling to herself. Tony looked over to see her trying to hold back laughs. Her face was turning bright red and she looked like she was in pain from laughing so hard. This made Tony grin so wide he almost started laughing himself. Robert noticed the distraction between the two of them and reprimanded them in front of the class. Michelle instantly went silent, and whispered a quiet apology. When Robert turned around to get kick-boxing supplies immediately after, Tony looked back at Michelle who began giggling like a little girl once again.

The class was in full session, and Tony was shocked at Michelle's strength. He had no idea that she had earned a full black belt in Shotokan, a very advanced form of karate.

"Mhm" she responded after telling Tony the story about how she earned her stripes. "I even got to travel to Japan with my sensei for a month while he was studying there a few years ago. I learned so much, it was one of the best experiences of my life."

Even as they practiced basic defensive moves, Michelle was sharper, swifter, stronger, and much more perceptive than any of the other students. Any time Tony lunged for her, she immediately recovered, took position and seized her advantage over him. She definitely had a knack for thinking on her feet.

When it came time for the students to pair up with a partner, Tony made sure he was paired with Michelle. They began with basic moves, from avoiding an attack to response in times of danger. During this hour, they exchanged casual conversation, and learned more about each other than in the three weeks they had been working together.

Tony told all about his time spent in the Marines. He talked about the things he saw, the people he met, and why he chose to quit.

"Because," Tony said when Michelle asked why he left during their water break, "I realized that I didn't want to kill people any more. I didn't want to attack villages, hurt innocent people, go undercover…or be a part of a violent end to a violent beginning. I saw the mistakes being made by our generals and commando leaders, and learned from them; I realized that I could make better choices from my experience, and decided to use it in a productive way by joining CTU. I thought that maybe I could make a difference, possibly find a way to end the constant violence while still serving my country." Michelle looked at him with curiosity and amazement. He shrugged. "I never want to hurt an innocent person again. I don't know if anything I've done has helped anybody, but I get through the day on the hope that maybe I saved someone's life or protected my country."

Michelle couldn't believe what she was hearing. Tony Almeida was the best man she had ever met in her life; he was honorable, yet humble, and always thought about someone else's well-being before his own. He was in no way selfish, and committed his life to serving his country and helping others.

"Tony…" she said to him. "That's…that's beautiful. I've never met someone as dedicated as you. Everything you've done, everything you've accomplished…it helps people every day. How can you not see that what you're doing is protecting the lives of millions of people?"

He shrugged again. "I'm glad you see it that way, but I guess… I feel like I haven't done enough, didn't try hard enough" he blurted out. "I sometimes feel guilty about the people I didn't save, or the innocents I didn't protect. I try not to beat myself up about it, and I know deep down that I can't protect everybody, but that doesn't mean I don't try." He couldn't believe he was confessing all of this to her; he had never told anyone about his feelings before, not even his own mother.

Michelle put his arm on his shoulder. "Tony…you're right. You can't save everyone…it's impossible. But you try your best, and save as many as you can. What you do everyday… most people can't handle in a lifetime. You're braver than any man I've ever met, and you have to believe that. You can't let just the few that you miss or mistakes that you make judge your entire career or determine your future…you just do the best that you can, which is pretty damn awesome, if I may say so myself."

Tony smiled, and felt instantly better. He knew all of this on the inside, but just hearing her say it lifted a huge weight off his shoulders that he had no idea he was carrying around. He felt relieved…and more relaxed than he had in years. They went back onto the mats and continued to chat while they finished her training.

Michelle also learned that Tony had lived in Argentina for several years as a child before moving to Chicago, although he was born in America. Several members of his family still lived in Buenos Aires and he visited them every couple of years. He told her all about what life was like there, from the beautiful beaches to the amazing food to walking down Calle Ocho in the middle of the summer.

"Michelle, you have no idea how amazing it is down there," he said as he jumped down to punch her in the stomach. Michelle immediately grabbed his hand, twisted it, and Tony landed flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him. He was still in shock about how fast she reacted.

"Really?" she replied. Tony got up, brushed himself off, and then placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.

"Yeah" he said. "Then there's another little artsy city called La Boca, and every single house is painted the craziest colors; hot pink, orange, purple, bright red..." Her eyes opened wide in amazement. She listened intently to his words, like a child listens to a teacher. "And in the middle of December, it's actually summer for us. We celebrate Christmas under a palm tree."

She laughed aloud and avoided his attempted kick to her chin. She grabbed his leg, pushed him onto his stomach, and climbed on top of his back with his arm twisted behind it.

"Wow. That sounds incredible. I wish I could go there sometime."

"We could! I plan on going back next year, you should totally come with me." She got up off his back and he struggled to stand on his feet. "That is, if I live through you beating me up like this. Gees, Michelle" he moaned as he tried to stretch out his sore back.

She put her hands on her hips and laughed, out of breath. "Well, I warned you that I wasn't going to go easy on you." They were finishing their partner work, and decided to take a twenty-minute lunch break by themselves in the locker room.

"What about you?" Tony asked as they walked with their fast food in hand. "You've heard everything there is to know about me, and yet all I know about you is that you have a brother with two kids and you're awesome at karate." He wiped the sweat off his brow with a towel.

Michelle's face fell and she paused. She had been avoiding his questions all day and hoped he hadn't noticed. She definitely didn't want to talk about her past, but knew he deserved it after everything he had told her. She stared at the ground for a moment before looking back up at Tony, who had a concerned look on his face. Michelle looked in his eyes and felt them penetrating right through her.

"_God…_" she thought. "_It's like he can see right through me_."

Tony felt her uneasiness and placed a hand on her knee. "Hey…if you don't want to talk about it we don't have to."

Michelle shook her head, looking away. "No…" she replied slowly. "You deserve to know, after everything you just told me." Tony was about to say she didn't owe him anything, that he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but she interrupted him. "No…I _want_ you to know." Tony stopped his protests and listened.

Michelle took a deep breath and tried to figure out where to begin. "Well, uh…my mother was killed by a drunk driver when I was twelve. I was sitting in the backseat with my little brother when it happened. Danny was only eight. He doesn't remember much about her." Tony looked deep into Michelle's eyes as she tried to keep her composure. "I still remember that night vividly…the truck's headlights heading right into the side of my mom's car as he ran a red light. I was sitting in the passenger seat and Danny was in a car seat in the back. My mom and I had just had a fight about something stupid, I don't even remember what it was about…I was just being an obnoxious little preteen and totally disrespecting her. She was yelling at me, and I was just sitting there trying to block out the sound of her voice." Michelle's eyes began to fill with tears, and she closed them to try to hold them back. "What's funny is that I tried so hard to not listen to what she was saying, and now…I'd give _anything_ just to hear her voice one last time." She sat squeezing her eyes shut as if trying to go back to that night, to try to remember what her mother was saying. "God" she said exasperated as she opened them and came back to reality. Tears finally began to fell, and she wiped one away insignificantly, trying to pretend like they weren't there. She regained her composure, sniffed for a second, and then continued.

"Anyway, so um the truck hit us as my mother was looking at me trying to get my attention. I was getting pissed so I kept ignoring her and looked out the window." She took a deep breath. "When I saw the headlights from the corner of my eye, and turned and screamed, and she looked out the window right as it hit us going sixty-five miles an hour. I just remember seeing the bring lights blinding me, then a loud bang and suddenly everything went dark. I guess I was knocked out or something because the next thing I remember was the sound of the jaws of life cutting the roof of the car off. It scared me, and I looked up to see a fireman pulling me out of the seat. The first thing I did was turn around to see Danny screaming in his seat, but perfectly okay as another fireman pulled him out. Then I looked at my mom…and..." her voice began to shake but she kept going just trying to get through the story. "And I saw her, her head on the steering wheel, blood coming out of her ears, and she was…just staring at me. She was still alive, her eyes were open, and she looked right at me. Then her head just slumped down and…and…" Michelle was convulsing now. Her body shook so hard it looked like she had no control over it. Tears were streaming down her face, and her eyes were red and swollen. Tony couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't watch her do this to herself. He reached over, grabbed her, and held her close in his arms. She began to fight him off. "No, no I'm not done" she insisted, but Tony continued to hold her until finally her protests stopped and she submitted to his embrace. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and breathed in deeply, the scent of him calming her down. She was crying hysterically, and Tony could feel the warm wetness of her tears dripping down his neck. He closed his eyes and just held her, feeling terrible for making her do this. All he could think about the pain she was in, and how he desperately wanted to take it away. He wished that she never had to have lived through such a terrible ordeal.

"Just breathe, Michelle. It's gonna be okay. Just breathe. I'm here, it's okay, it's okay…" He attempted to soothe by rubbing her back, and coached her through taking deep breathes.

After a few minutes Michelle began to calm down. Her breathing slowed, and she concentrated on the sound of his voice and the small circles he made on her back. His hand was so firm, yet gentle, and every spot he touched seemed to leave a healing mark on her skin. It was warm, inviting, and she wished he would never stop.

Finally she snapped back into reality of where she was and what was going on. She jumped back out of his arms. "Oh my God" she whispered. Her eyes were puffy and swollen, her face was flushed, and her voice was still raspy from all of the crying. She looked away, and attempted to stand up. "I'm so sorry, oh my God, I can't believe what I just did. I'm so sorry, that was so unprofessional…" Tony stopped her midsentence. "Hey, hey, it's fine" he said grabbing her arm as she tried to stand. She looked down at his hand and slowly sat back down on the bench between the lockers. Her face turned bright red out of embarrassment. "I can't believe I just did that" she said trying to wipe the dried tears off her face. Tony looked into her eyes and said "don't worry about it. I'm sorry that I made you talk about that."

"You didn't make me do anything, Tony. I wanted to tell you. I don't know why, since I've never really said that to anyone before…" she paused and contemplated this. "But it was my choice, and I know you must think I'm some baby who craves attention or can't handle this kind of job…" She began to ramble about how embarrassed she was, and Tony attempted to stop her, but she kept going; "or I'm trying to get everyone to feel sorry for me, but I'm really not like that at all. I'm usually really good at keeping my emotions in check, and I promise you that this won't happen again." All of a sudden she turned from a funny, sensitive woman, into agent Michelle Elizabeth Dessler, Internet Protocol Manager of CTU Los Angeles.

Tony stopped her mid-sentence. "Hey, wait, hold on a sec. I wasn't thinking that at all. In fact, I was admiring at how brave you are for being able to live through something like that. To be honest, I don't think I could ever have survived something like that. I don't know how you did it."

Michelle looked up at him and tried to regain her composure. She had no idea what to say."Thank you" she whispered. "For…everything."

"No problem" he said as he took his hand off her arm. "Come on, let's go back out on the mats. I'm sure Robert can't wait to see us" he said winking. Michelle smirked. Tony could tell she was still upset, but hoped the training would distract her. They walked out of the locker room and began their afternoon training session…together.

As training continued, Robert called for one of the students to grab their partner from behind their backs. Tony went and took Michelle by her arms, and their hands were interlocked. Tony's heart began to pound. Then Robert told the aggressors to restrain their victims while the victim attempted to escape. Tony tightened his hold on Michelle's arms, and she yelped. He immediately let go and felt his stomach drop. "Oh my God…I'm so sorry, are you okay? Let me see." The whole point of Tony taking this class was to watch over Michelle, protect her…now he was the one hurting her. He couldn't take it, he didn't want to ever touch her again. Michelle turned around to face him. "Tony, it's fine, really…no big deal. I just wasn't expecting it, but that's the kind of training I need. You of all people should know that…when you're out in the field, there is no set schedule or instructions, and you need to learn how to deal with situation is thrown your way." He stared at her, shocked out how level headed she was about…everything.

Michelle turned around again and put her arms behind her back, gesturing for him to restrain her. When he didn't, she turned her head and repeated "I'm fine." Tony hesitated but gently restrained her. He was so close he could smell her; the light perfume, the clean smell of her hair. It was intoxicating.

Michelle tried to listen intently to Robert's instructions as he explained how to escape this kind of restraint, but the feeling of his large hands grasping her body made her heart dance. She closed her eyes and felt his strong, muscular body up against her back, and it sent shivers down her spine. She felt the heat of his chest radiating through her thin tank, and goose bumps formed all over her arms.

After training was finally over, Robert handed each of them their evaluations and thanked Tony personally for volunteering his time. When he turned around to check on Michelle, she had a huge smile on her face. She ran over to him.

"Look!" she squealed. She thrust her evaluations paper in front of his face, and Tony's face fell as he read it.

Best in class…9.6 out of 10…quick thinker…highly recommended for field ops…_oh shit_. He had secretly been hoping that she sucked; then George wouldn't even think about putting her in play.

Michelle noticed his disappointment. "what?" she said. "Isn't that good?"

Tony looked up at her, and immediately put on a happy face. "Oh no, that's fantastic! Congratulations, Michelle, you did great today. Ryan and George are going to be extremely impressed."

"Then…what's the matter…?"

Tony pretended to laugh. "Oh, nothing…it's just that…you did better than me on my first training session. It's official; you actually did beat-up your boss…literally."

Michelle smiled. "Awe, don't feel bad" she teased. "Theirs always next year. Oh wait…" she smirked and Tony chased her all the way into an empty locker room…the same room where they had lunch. Michelle laughed as she dodged Tony's lunges for her. Finally he grabbed hold of her and picked her up in his arms. She squealed like a little kid as he threw her over his back.

"Oh really? You thought you were so good that you could get away from agent Almeida?" he said with her dangling off the side.

"Tony!" she panted as she started punching his back. "TONY!" she laughed even harder and he placed her on the ground. She lost her balance when he let go of her and immediately caught her in his arms. She began laughing again at her clumsy-ness and Tony looked her in the eyes as she leaned into his chest, trying to regain balance. His strong arms were wrapped around her body, fully supporting her weight. Michelle stopped, and looked deep into his penetrating eyes. All the noise between them stopped, and Tony's thumb caressed the crook of her waist where his hand was settled. Michelle's arms were laying on his chest, and she could feel it expand with every breath he took. She looked down at his mouth, and as she did so his heart began to pound under her hand. Butterflies fluttered all throughout her, and she felt weak at the knees, glad that Tony was supporting her. Time seemed to swirl all around them, both of them completely unaware as to what was happening around them. It was just the two of them, in this embrace.

Suddenly they both flinched at the sound of a locker room door slamming shut. The rest of the class was beginning to enter to get changed. Michelle jumped out of Tony's arms, and her cheeks turned bright red. She couldn't believe what just happened…what _almost_ happened. She was totally embarrassed, and Tony seemed to be feeling the same way as he refused to look at her.

"So, er…" he mumbled, the same way he had on the first day they met. "You should probably go and get changed. Since this is the guy's room and all."

Aware of her surroundings, Michelle jumped at the sight of a bunch of guys waiting for her to leave so they could change. They all shook their heads obviously knowing they had just interrupted something.

Michelle's cheeks turned even redder. "Oh, yeah, umm sorry. So I'll see you later then." She swiftly left the room, crossing her arms over her chest. Suddenly she was very aware of how skimpy an outfit she had been wearing. She left the men's locker room wanting nothing more than to crawl under a rock and never come out.


	4. Chapter 4: Undercover Part 1

**Author's Note****: Hey everyone! Thank you so much to all who have been reading and reviewing my stories! I can't tell you how much it means to me! I will try to update every week, but it's your reviews that really keep me motivated, so keep them coming please! Also, this chapter to pretty long, I've been working on it for awhile, and have had some trouble with the story line and have been looking for some romantic inspiration. Let me know if you guys think it's corny/cheesy, or actually of value. I want to give these characters justice in their relationship…they are both very strong, intelligent beings, and I don't want them to come off as weak. So let me know! 3**

**Warning****: some language.**

**Chapter 4**

_Undercover Part I_

_The next day:_

As Michelle drove to work the next day, she planned to avoid Tony. She had thought about what happened yesterday all night, and was beginning to wonder if it was all just in her head. Did they really have…a moment? At the time, it felt like every part of her body was on fire. An intense chemical reaction was pulsing between them, and the world seemed to stop spinning.

But the more Michelle had analyzed the situation, the more it seemed like it was her imagination getting the best of her. She just didn't know what to think, what to believe. What she was even more confused about was what to do…should she avoid him? Should she act like nothing happened? Or should she just be professional and move on?

As she got out of her car she decided that she'd let him take the initiative…if he said anything or acted differently, then she'd know something had happened and deal with the situation when it arrived. "_Thinking on your feet_," she thought to herself. "_That's what it's all about_."

When she walked into the office, she noticed that he wasn't at his desk. She went into the break room, got their coffee, and when she walked back out Tony wasn't standing at her desk. She let out a sigh and placed his coffee on his desk.

Tony peeked out of George's office window to find Michelle sitting at her desk, working on active protocols. He felt bad for making her do it and breaking their morning routine, but there was no way he could look at her after what happened yesterday in the locker room. He hadn't spoken to her since yesterday afternoon, and wondered what she was feeling, what she was thinking. Usually they emailed each other all night long, about work, with the occasional smiley-face. But he hadn't heard from her, and wondered if she felt awkward, too.

Tony was half-listening as George described the situation they were in; apparently a known terrorist from Russia, Damien Lustkovitz, had resurfaced in and around LA with other suspected groups. Intel had been digging around all night, but the only information they could pull up on this guy from public records was that he had a daughter, Brielle, who attended an all-girls boarding school about an hour outside of the city. They also believed Lustkovitz was involved in a possible biochemical attack scheduled to happen within the next four months.

Tony had remembered some previous details on the case. They had sent someone in undercover about a month ago to try and track down information, but he went missing in the line of duty two days ago; he was either dead or being held hostage because his identity had been compromised. From him, CTU had learned that all of the evidence and plans for the attack had been stored on a hard drive, whereabouts unknown.

About a half hour later, Michelle looked over at Tony's desk and saw that his coffee was gone. She felt a punch in the stomach that he had been down in the bullpen and hadn't said anything to her. Of course, she had been avoiding him, but it hurt that he didn't want to talk to her. What she was more upset about, though, was that this meant everything that happened wasn't just in her head. She had prayed last night that everything she had felt was just her imagination, but him avoiding her just made the entire situation all too true. That meant he felt exactly like she did…embarrassed, awkward, confused. Michelle had never felt so connected to someone before. It scared her.

As she was picking through her thoughts, Michelle turned around to see Tony clicking down the stairs. He looked right at her and quickly turned away, hoping she didn't notice him. Tony was ready to face her yet.

Michelle slowly stood up from her chair. She had no idea what was about to happen or how to prepare for it. She was terrified of what he would say to her.

"Good morning" she smiled when he walked over to her.

"Mornin'" he responded casually, avoiding her stare. He scratched the side of his face.

She could tell he was trying to avoid her. It was like he had wrapped himself up in a box, and refused to let her in.

"Hey. So, um, I checked on the active protocols list and their doesn't seem to be much that we missed yesterday except an advancement on the Lustkovitz case."

Although Tony tried not to look at Michelle, her voice was so soothing. He couldn't help but forget everything that was running through his mind while she spoke.

"Yeah, George was just telling me about it. He's going to debrief me once the data comes in."

Michelle nodded. She could tell Tony was letting down his guard. He was acting like the day they met; uncomfortable at first, but slowly relaxed as the conversation continued.

"So…how are you feeling? After yesterday, I mean, with the training and all."

Tony smirked, finally looking at her instead of playing with the pencil on her desk. "I'm not gonna lie to you…I'm pretty damn sore."

Michelle laughed. "I told you! Although I will admit, you got me pretty hard, too. I could barely move when I woke up this morning."

Tony nodded, smiling. "Yeah, well you're dealing with a professional marine and full government agent over here" he replied. "Even George was impressed at your report." Unfortunately. He looked at Michelle with that gorgeous smile on her face, and wondered how he could ever want to avoid her. He was transfixed by every move she made, performed with such grace and simplicity. Her eyes sparkled every time she laughed, and her smile radiated throughout the entire room. She literally could stop an entire room…at least through his eyes.

Just as he was transfixed on watching her every move, the phone on her desk began to ring and he was dragged from his thoughts.

"Michelle Dessler." Her name, her voice, made him catch his breath. Tony felt like he had been swept off his feet in just an instant. His body felt like it was constantly being thrown around in the presence of this woman.

"Yes he's here" she said into the phone. "Tony, it's George for you."

"Yeah, George, what's up?"

"Tony, I've got an update on Damien Lustkovitz. Send Michelle over to field ops and come up to my office."

"Wait, what di…?" Just as he was about to ask for him to repeat what he said, George hung up.

Tony was stunned. He had no idea what to do. Michelle? In…_field ops_? Had he heard him correctly? There's _no_ way that was right…he had to figure out what the hell was going on.

He jumped at the sound of Michelle's voice. "Tony…what's going on? What's the matter?"

He looked at her face and was at a loss for words. "Wait here" he said sternly as he rushed upstairs to George's office. Michelle watched him go with a puzzled look on her face but sat down and began to run satellite.

When Tony walked into George's office, he was already on the phone with Jack Bauer. "Yup, that's great, Jack. Ok, she'll be ready soon." And he hung up the phone and turned to Tony.

"Our tracking and intelligence operations finally came through; Damien's center of operations is a back room at a local strip club. We're sending someone in undercover to see if his men are there, I'll need you here running tactical and we'll bring in someone from IT to run comm."

Tony was totally lost. "Wait, why can't Michelle run comm? Is she being reassigned?"

"Yes. We're sending her in undercover."

Tony felt his stomach drop and do a front flip. "Wait…_what_?" He was at a complete loss for words. It was like he was trapped inside his body, screaming to get out. They were going to send her in…undercover? With these monsters? Did they not understand that one of their men was probably dead because of this guy?

"Tony, look, I don't have time to argue with you over this, Michelle's the only person we have and…" 

"What the fuck are you talking about George? We _have_ trained agents, we _have_ agent Cooper, we have plenty of other resources than using somebody that has only been trained for one day before throwing her out in the front line…" He was practically screaming now. This entire situation was ridiculous! Tony tried to think about it logically; it didn't make sense for them to bring Michelle in. There were plenty of different options, and an undercover operation wasn't even necessary through his eyes. Besides, he needed someone who was experienced with their system to run comm. He didn't trust anyone in the IT department to stay cool during a dangerous mission like Michelle was able to.

His heart said something completely different; Tony didn't think he could handle if anything happened to Michelle. He was just starting to open himself up to her. He was finally letting someone back inside. And to have it ripped away from him again? What if she got hurt? What if she didn't come home? The thought of a fresh scar over his already wounded heart scared him.

And Michelle? He would die for her in an instant. He would do anything so that she never felt an ounce of pain. Tony wanted to save her from all of the evil he'd seen in the world even though he barely knew her. What did that mean then? There was no way they were going to send Michelle into danger like that. She was too small, too fragile, too…too good to be put in that kind of situation.

"Tony, TONY!" George yelled. Finally Tony stopped screaming and tried to catch his breath.

"Listen, I don't understand what the hell is the matter with you, but we agreed when we hired Michelle that she would be sent in to field ops when we have no other options." 

"But we do have other options, George!"

"No, we don't" he replied smoothly. "Agent Cooper is in currently in New York, and right now this is our only lead. Look, the mission won't be dangerous, we just need to get Michelle into the back room to get a scope around. There has been chatter to suggest that Damien has been hiding the hard drive there, but we need proof before we go in ourselves."

"You don't consider that dangerous? You are about to send an inexperienced agent into a building full of terrorists, don't tell me that's not dangerous!"

"She's not inexperienced, Tony, she exceeds all of the requirements! She has remarkable success at Division, several weeks of familiarity here, and Robert personally told me he was pleasantly surprised at her performance yesterday."

Tony couldn't speak. That was it; there was nothing he could do now. He knew from the look on George's face that his decision was final. The only thing that kept Tony clinging to hope for her safety was that he would be in control while running tactical.

Tony sighed, desperate and distraught. He had never felt so defeated. "So how are you sending her in?"

"As a dancer at the club. She'll need to get herself into the back room and then look around for any useful information. I'm sorry Tony, but this is the only chance we have. Michelle will be fine, and we'll find someone just as competent to run comm., I promise."

Tony couldn't believe it. He felt like the world had slipped out from underneath his feet and he was dangling on a string. He felt completely out of control.

"Did you send her over to field ops yet?" George asked, interrupting his train of thought.

"No" Tony mumbled. George didn't even bother asking why. He picked up the phone and dialed Michelle's desk as Tony walked over to the window in the office and watched her answer it.

"Dessler."

Watching her made Tony feel even worse.

"Hey Michelle, it's George. I'm going to need to send you over to field ops as an undercover. There's a written report already waiting over there for you to read, we've received a crucial update on Lustkovitz's location and need to send you in."

Michelle stopped what she was doing as she listened to him speak. "Um, yeah okay, no problem. I'll head over now." She shut down her station and quickly put away her things. "_What could they need me for_?" she wondered. "_I hope it isn't anything serious_." As she began walking away she looked up at Mason's office to see Tony watching her as she walked away, a pained look on his face. Michelle got suddenly nervous when she looked at him. Why was he so upset? Was he okay? Did it have something to do with the case? With her?

About a half hour later, Tony forced himself over to field ops to debrief Michelle and give her her new identity. When he opened up the door to the waiting room, he found her hunched in a chair over a file, duteously studying the case. Her eyes were squinted in concentration and she didn't even notice Tony walked in.

It wasn't until Tony shut the door behind him that he noticed what she was wearing; a neon green tube top, a skin tight leather mini skirt and four inch stilettos. Her entire stomach was showing, and her breasts were pouring out of the top of her shirt. Michelle's thighs were completely visible, and her legs clearly defined in the heels. But what really caught his attention was her hair; those beautiful curls, the ones he always wondered about, were finally unpinned and roaming freely about. They spread like rays of sunlight from her head past her shoulders, and shone with an electrifying red-glow.

Tony stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't catch his breath and his heart began pounding while staring at her. It wasn't her beauty that stunned him; rather, Tony remembered that Michelle was being sent into the mission as a stripper. He couldn't stand the fact that everyone would be looking at her like this. She was absolutely gorgeous, which was exactly why she couldn't be seen. Those terrorists…were monsters. They would take advantage of her, use her…hurt her. She was worth so much more than that, and deserved it, too.

After a couple of seconds Michelle noticed his presence and jumped up out of her seat. "Jesus, Tony, you scared the hell out of me." She placed her hand on her chest to feel her heart beat. Just as she did this, she remembered what she was wearing. "Oh shit" she whispered as she looked down at herself. "I'm so…I'm really sorry I totally forgot what I was wearing. This is so inappropriate for an debrief, I'm sorry I should have covered up, they told me someone was coming…". She was beginning to ramble again.

"Hey hey, relax, it's no big deal, don't even worry about it. Think of it as work attire." He tried to make her laugh, she looked so stressed out.

She smiled slightly, but began to blush at the same time. "Okay, well can you just give me two seconds so I can go grab a jacket or something from…"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Tony took the jacket he had been wearing and put it around her. She seemed surprised at the gesture but appreciative all the same. "Thank you" she whispered. She closed her eyes at the heat of his body now resting on her bare skin. She smelt that amazing cologne again, and had never felt so complete.

Tony cleared his throat and scratched the side of his face, obviously uncomfortable with the moment as well. "Umm, so why don't we sit down while I show you the updates we've received?"

They sat and Tony began explaining everything to her and showed her her new ID. "Your new name is now Camilla Barisco, you're a 25-year-old single mom with a two year old at home. Lived in the slums of LA all your life, and worked at the strip club for 8 months. When you get there, you're going to need to identify this man..." he showed her a picture of Damien. "And somehow get into the back room near the south entrance. This is where we believe their operations are run. We'll let you know when it's clear to go inside from an infrared satellite scans. Also, the entire club is scattered with security cameras, so we'll always be watching you, no need to worry."

Michelle looked at him in the eyes. "Thanks Tony. I'm okay, really. I feel confident that I know what I'm doing. I've looked through all of the pictures of Lustkovitz's men, I know who to avoid…this should be relatively simple. As long as I blend in and make myself go unnoticed, which shouldn't be too hard, I think everything will be fine."

Tony's eyes widened at her lack of fear. "Michelle…I'm not trying to scare you, but I need you to be on your toes at all times. Trust me, I've been doing field ops for years, and no mission is simple, easy, or goes as planned. Things can change in an instant, and you've got to remember that."

"And I know that, really. I promise I will stay on my toes and always stay alert." She smiled genially. "Besides, what could go wrong with Tony Almeida running tactical?"

He gave her a weak and pained smile. Although Tony knew she was trying to lighten the mood, it only made him feel worse. He knew he would be completely responsible for everything that was about to happen, and feared what might go wrong by his hands. This was the first time in his career where he actually was questioning his decisions, and didn't want to be in charge. And yet, at the same time, it was a comfort to know that everything was in his control and he had the power to change the outcome of the situation.

There was a serious and awkward air hanging between them, and Michelle didn't want to leave without addressing what was on her mind. It was obvious by now that Tony wasn't going to take the initiative, so she had to be the one to mention the elephant in the room.

"Um, Tony, listen…about yesterday, what happened in the locker room. I just wanted to say that…"

Tony was watching her with intensity, obviously curious about what she was about to say. Michelle hoped he would interrupt her again before she made a fool of herself.

"I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable. And if you just want to put the past behind us and move on like professionals from here, I'd be happy to." She waited nervously for his response. She had finally released it, all of the tension she had been holding for hours. She only hoped his response wasn't fierce…but nothing about Tony was fierce.

She waited awhile in suspense before he finally took a breath. "Look, Michelle, I only want what's best and more comfortable for you, and if you think we should leave the past in the past, then I agree. And listen, I thought we already spoke about this…you shouldn't be sorry because you cried in front of me. You had told me something very personal about your life, and got emotional, which is completely understandable. I don't think of you any differently, so please, don't feel bad about it, okay?"

Michelle was stunned. Her face was frozen, and her mouth hung open. She just stared at him in disbelief. "_What? Did he seriously think I was talking about when I told him about my mother?_" she thought. She snapped herself out of it and forced herself to look at him.

"Yeah, okay, I understand. …Thank you. For…everything." She gave a small smile.

Tony reciprocated her smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Any time. I'm going to let you finish getting ready, and come out when you're done so we can finish your debrief, okay?"

"Sure" she replied nonchalantly. She watched him walk out and began to cry…again.

Tony walked out of the field ops waiting room like the biggest asshole in the world. "_Fuck, what the hell did I just do_?" he thought. As soon as Michelle had begun talking, he had known what it was about, but couldn't bring himself to accept the reality; he had feelings for her. Very deep feelings. There was no way he could admit that to her and then watch her go out undercover. So he had pretended like he had no idea what she was talking about. And he could tell how much it had hurt her. He closed his eyes and tried to erase the image of her pained and frozen face from his mind, but it was branded beneath his eyelids. He blinked back his pain and tried to stay focused on the task at hand. "When this is all over, then I'll say something. Then I'll tell her I knew what she was talking about" he muttered under his breath. "_If she'll ever forgive me_."

On the car ride to the strip club, Michelle began to get really nervous. She couldn't help but think back to what Tony had told her before she left:

"_Michelle, please remember…don't be nervous, but think fast and stay on your toes."_

She closed her eyes and tried to relax like he had said. As she sat thinking Jack turned around from the front seat to face her.

"Michelle, I need to talk to you."

Michelle looked up at him attentively. "Yes?"

"Look, what I'm about to say isn't protocol, but I can't emphasize enough how crucial this mission is. All of our intel is relying on you right now, and I think you understand how important that is to this operation."

Michelle nodded.

"Then I need you to understand that our main objective is to get the information and to get out. It is imperative that your cover isn't blown throughout this process, and I'm going to warn you now, that leaving the club isn't going to be that easy. We have to assume every guy in there is watching your every movements, looking for one slip up…"

She crossed her arms across her chest, not in the mood to be patronized."What are you saying, Jack?"

"That I need you to keep your cover."

Michelle paused and looked for the hidden meaning behind his words. "You mean…if I'm caught, or one of them attacks me, don't fight back?"

Jack nodded slowly. "Yes."


	5. Chapter 5: Undercover Part 2

**Chapter 5**

_Undercover Part 2_

_That same night:_

When Michelle stepped out of the van onto the cool, wet pavement, her heart sped up. The strip club was in sight a couple blocks away. Jack got out behind her and handed her a cell phone.

"Here. Keep this somewhere safe where no one will see it. We won't have any communication with you while you're in there, so in case of an emergency this is your only lifeline." Jack looked at her deeply as he said this, reminding her the importance of no emergencies on this mission. Michelle nodded in response. She wasn't even sure if her voice would come out if she tried speaking. She looked down at her outfit and seeing no where else to place the phone, stuck it down her shirt.

Jack looked at her awkwardly for a second and then said, "uh, here let me take Tony's coat." Michelle had completely forgotten she was wearing it and slipped the jacket off.

"Okay, I'm ready" she said firmly after shaking out her hair, making it look even more untamed. She really did look like a hooker off the street, but prayed it didn't attract too much attention.

"Good. When you get inside, try your hardest to blend in but stay out of sight. We'll give you a call once Chloe confirms that the back room is empty from the infrared scan."

She nodded. Michelle started walking towards the club and when she entered from the back way with the other dancers, she tried to make it seem like she knew what she was doing. Although she had never stepped foot in the place before that night, no one seemed to question her being back with the other girls. She looked just like them, and began to observe their actions so she could copy them.

In the meantime, Michelle tried her best to hide out in the dressing room while the other girls danced. The last thing she wanted to do was bring any attention to herself. She pretended to be fixing her makeup or hair whenever someone walked by.

About a half an hour passed before the cell phone began to vibrate. She went into a corner of the room and answered it.

"Yes."

"Michelle, it's Tony." She closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. She felt so much better now and was relieved to hear his soothing voice.

"We haven't received the results from the satellite yet, but they should be in soon, so hang in there. Listen, we've been keeping an eye on the flow of traffic from the security cameras and our facial recognition software picked out a couple Damien's bodyguards, so most likely he's in the building. Unfortunately, it seems as if they disabled some of the cameras in the club, near the back rooms and bathrooms. We need you to start doing a scope around the building and see if you can identify him. Can you do that?"

"Yes. I will call you if I spot him" she replied firmly.

"Good. Michelle…be careful" he reminded her.

"I will" she promised, and hung up the phone.

When she entered the club, Michelle was bombarded by darkness, flashing lights, the scent of stale alcohol and dozens of men crowded around the bar where the girls were dancing on poles. Michelle looked and saw that the backrooms were located on the opposite side of the building, so she began to push her way through the bodies of people to try and get to the other side.

As she tried to push through, one guy slapped her ass and another grabbed her breast. To each one she forced a sexy smile and they handed her a couple of singles. She had never felt so violated or degraded in her entire life. Michelle wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and burst into tears. She felt sick to her stomach, and her face was pale.

She was almost to the other side where the bathrooms were located until one guy grabbed her by the arm and turned her forward. "And where do you think you're going, missy?"

Michelle thought it was just another sick, drunk pervert until she looked at his face. She recognized him from the groups of photos in Damien's file; it was one of his bodyguards, one of the terrorists. Tony had warned they were scattered around the place but the reality didn't sink in until she was actually in his grasp.

"I'm just, uh, I was just going to go the bathroom" she stammered. "My shift's over."

The guy glanced over to the rooms, and Michelle followed his stare to the left. "_Third door to the left_" she said to herself mentally. By the look on his face, obviously Damien was inside that room, not the one they suspected.

The bodyguard looked her up and down, his gaze focusing on her breasts. He paused then said "You ain't so bad…" and pulled out a couple of twenties and stuck them in her skirt. Then he yanked her over to a chair and forced her on top of him. "Come on, bitch, that's more than you've made all night."

Michelle was frozen. She felt tears stinging in her eyes, but kept concentrated on all of the lives they could save if they just got this information. She took a deep breath and realized this was just a small sacrifice she could give for all of those people. She sat up and began giving him a weak attempt at a lap dance. She had no idea what the hell she was doing, she just made it up as she went along.

As she lowered herself down, her head came down next to his neck. It reeked of alcohol and made Michelle's stomach turn. She turned her face away and tried to take a deep breath. Over his shoulder she noticed a camera with a blinking green light. Her face turned to despair as she remembered that CTU was watching her, right now…Tony was watching her.

A tear escaped from her eye but she quickly blinked the rest away. This was _not_ the time for her to break down. She kept breathing and tried to just slip away, tried to forget where she was, pretend like this day had never happened…

Tony looked at the monitor displayed in the bullpen and felt sick. He was standing here watching Michelle being forced to give some guy, some _terrorist_, a lap dance! He felt his blood begin to curdle. He wanted to punch something, someone. He watched as Michelle looked directly into the camera they were monitoring her on. He watched her face turn to horror as she remembered they were watching. He watched a tear slide down her cheek. He watched as she struggled to keep them from falling, wanting nothing more than to reach over and wipe them away. She shouldn't be going through this, she shouldn't have to deal with this, she shouldn't have to…

Tony's thoughts were interrupted by some guy who whistled in the back. Tony spun around, ripping the comm. out of his ear. He looked over to see Michael, some young guy they just hired sitting in a chair, laughing at how cool he was.

Tony had lost it. He marched over to were this kid was sitting and ripped him out of his seat. Michael's face turned from laughter and lust into fear as Tony grabbed his collar.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing? Do you think this is _funny_?" he yelled in his face. "Answer me! Do you think it's funny that we have agents out the field, risking their lives to gather crucial information, as you sit here and watch?"

Michael looked like he was about to shit his pants. "Geez, Tony, take it easy, I was just kidding around…"

Tony threw him against a wall and grabbed his shirt with both hands. The kid was practically dangling on his toes. "Kidding? You were just _kidding_? We don't kid here, you asshole. Do you think Michelle wants to be in that position? Don't you think she'd rather be here, kicking your ass instead? Next time, I'll send you into the field so you can get shot by a terrorist, how does that sound?"

"Tony. Tony."

Tony jumped at the sound of George's voice. He turned around and saw everyone in the office staring at him, fear in their eyes.

"Let him go. I said drop him."

Tony opened his fists and the kid fell to the floor. George grabbed Tony by the elbow and began leading him away.

"No, damn it George, let go of me, don't touch me!" He shook Mason off his arm. "What, are you just going to let this go? Didn't you see what this asshole just did? I want him out of this office _now_."

George looked from the kid shaking on the ground to a security guard at the door. "Get him out of here" he said firmly. He looked at Tony again and said "My office. Now."

Tony took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He scratched the side of his face and followed George up to his office, feeling the stairs of every employee burning into his back.

Tony sat down on the couch across from George's desk. "What the hell was that?" he demanded.

Tony held his head in his hands and grumbled. He tried to wipe away the sleep and tears that had begun to overtake him. It had been a long day, and the image of Michelle's face was still branded into his brain.

George sighed. "Look, I really don't have time to deal with any of your shit right now."

Tony looked up at him, his anger beginning to return. "Sorry to inconvenience you, George, I didn't realize that my life was getting in your way!"

"Damn it, Tony!" he walked right up into his face. "Now you listen to me and listen good. Do you want to help Michelle. Do you want to help her?" He was screaming right in his face.

Tony nodded slowly.

"Then you need to pull your act together. That's it, from this moment on, you need to forget about the past, and move on. Leave all of your baggage shit behind and start with a clean slate, otherwise I'm going to have to find someone to replace you."

Tony was stunned. He had never seen Mason lose his anger like this. "Look, George, I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize" he said. "I just need you to get control. It's obvious you care about Michelle, okay? I get it. I can see you guys are really close friends. But if you want to help her, then get it together, Tony. For all of our sakes."

George walked out of the room and back onto the floor. Tony watched him leave and felt a growing sense of strength. Whatever it was clicked, and Tony realized that if he wanted to help Michelle he needed to be on top of his game. This was a fresh start, this moment right here. He opened the door of George's office, and the rush of wind that hit his face symbolized his freedom. Finally, Tony could move on.

Finally, the bodyguard got tired of her. He pushed Michelle off of him. "I don't know how you got your job, slut, you suck."

Michelle tried to remember how to breath. The world was getting fuzzy around her, and she forced herself to walk towards the back doors and gain control. As she stumbled over, out of the darkness someone came up behind her and pushed her against the wall. She was hidden in a shadow from the rest of the club, and rough hands grabbed at her throat. Suddenly she was thrown back into reality, and gasped for air. As she kicked and struggled, the man hoarsely whispered into her ear,

"And where do you think you're going?"

Michelle couldn't make out his face in the dark, and stray curls scattered across her eyes, blocking her vision. She needed to get out in the open so that she could signal CTU somehow. They needed to know she was in danger, that the mission was in danger; that was imperative.

She tried to choke out words. "I…I was just going to the bathroom. My shift's over."

She made a weak attempt at freeing herself, in hope that the man would move her over to get a better grip on her. She was right. The shadowed figure thrust her to the right, and Michelle was able to stick her arm and leg out of the dim hallway. Light from the club casted over the man's hard face, and Michelle's eyes widened in fear and surprise. It was him.

"No, it's not, you're shift started an hour ago. I've been watching you."

"Okay, fine. Can't I just pee, please?" she pleaded.

The man let her go roughly. "Fine, bitch, you want to be sarcastic?"

He grabbed her arm roughly and threw her onto the hard tile of the bathroom and slammed the door shut. "_Oh shit_" she thought. She glanced around the room quickly and remembered there were no security cameras in the bathroom. CTU couldn't see her, couldn't see what was happening. Then she remembered what Jack had said: not to fight back. She was helpless, this man could kill her if he wanted to and she would have no control over it. The man leaned down and grabbed a fistful of her hair, and Michelle squeezed her eyes shut and prayed it would be over soon.

Tony stood in the bullpen watching helplessly while Michelle was grabbed by an arm and thrown into a shadowy hallway. He was so hopeful as she made her way to the bathroom, he thought finally this entire nightmare would be over. She could get the information and get out. But then, in an instant, she was seized right out underneath him. He jumped when her figure disappeared. "What the…" he began.

Tony flew over to tactical. "What security over in that hallway?"

The IT girl typed away and responded. "Nothing. Lustkovitz disabled all of our connections in that vicinity."

"Damn it!" Tony yelled, truly frustrated. He ran his hands through his hair. "How do we know if she's still even there? They could have taken her into another room, how can we have nothing? Anything from the infrared satellite?" 

She shook her head. "No, nothing that's been updated in the last 20 minutes."

He threw his fists onto the table and looked at the screen. "Come on, Michelle, give us something" he whispered to himself. "Come on, baby…"

Just then, as Tony stared intently on the monitor, he saw a small arm and exposed thigh appear around the side of shadow. Tony looked harder, and found it was accompanied by stray, loose curls. He would recognize those anywhere.

Immediately he stood up. "That's her, that's Michelle, she's still there! Focus in on her, she's giving us a signal."

Tactical zoomed in on Michelle's hand and Tony saw her holding up two fingers. Tony's heart dropped and he lost control of his breath. Michelle was signaling to them that she was in danger. But there was nothing he could do about it.

Michelle tried to concentrate on anything, her little brother, the mission at hand…Tony's face. Anything except where she was and what was happening. The man grabbed her by her thick hair and wrapped a hand around her throat. She felt his strong hands making bruises on her neck as they constricted her breathing. Her knees were barely dangling off of the hard floor when he kneed her in the stomach. The sharp pain of his knee caught her off guard and she yelped as much as she could through her constricted airway.

He dropped her and she fell on the floor, and her temple slammed against the cool tile. Michelle couldn't breathe, and she clutched her bare stomach. The man began kicking her consistently with his foot, and Michelle's stomach felt like it was about to explode. There was nothing she could do; if she wanted, she could easily fight back. But Jack's words kept ringing in her ears. So she laid there, and took the punches as they came.

Michelle refused to give this guy the benefit of hearing her scream. She bit her bottom lip as hard as she could and held back all of the pain she was feeling, both physically and emotionally. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and the guy was getting pissed. Obviously he was expecting her to beg for mercy, to be crawling on her knees.

The grabbed her again and threw her up against the wall. Michelle's head slammed onto something hard and she felt dizzy. The room began to spin and she thought she was either going to be sick or pass out. The man slapped her hard across the face, whipping her head to the side. She felt the burning of his palm resonate after the blow.

The room was turning black. The man let go of her, and she slid to the floor. She felt a warm liquid run down her side, and her red fingers stuck to the floor. Michelle struggled to continue to take slow, steady breaths, but each one she took got more and more shallow. Consciousness was getting harder to hold on to. She felt herself slipping away when she heard a crash and the bathroom door flung open.

Michelle flung open her eyes, a new adrenaline pulsing through her veins. Now was _not_ the time to give up. She made out a shadowy figure holding a gun, and sensed danger. Then she heard a familiar raspy voice yell, "Drop your weapon! I said drop it!"

Tony looked one last time at Michelle and noticed something…a third finger pop up. He stared intently and counted…forefinger, middle, pinky…that was it!

He leaped up and yelled to tactical, "Quick, call Jack! Tell him we're a go! We've got the signal."

Thirty seconds later he was on the phone with Jack, who insisted it was too soon. Tony picked up the phone. "Jack, it's Tony. Listen, we've been watching from the security cameras. Michelle gave us the signal, Damien is in there."

"Are you sure, Tony? We need to be absolutely positive Lustkovitz is in there. We cannot afford any mistakes…"

"I'm _positive_, Jack" Tony said firmly. "Damien is inside, and I think Michelle is in danger, you need to go in now."

Tony listened as Jack gathered his men. They were going in. He only hoped it would be too late.

Michelle watched as Jack and Damien stood off, both with guns in their hands. Damien was just about to kill Michelle before Jack had walked in.

"No, you drop it!" Damien yelled. "Or I swear to God, I'll kill the bitch!"

Jack inched closer, and Damien grabbed Michelle and put his gun to her back. She struggled to stand on her feet, and looked Jack in the eyes. He looked at Michelle up and down and saw the blood and bruises. Michelle looked back at him with fear on her face, yet a strong will spread across her eyes. She stared at him and mouthed, "_Do it_."

Jack was attempting to avoid the inevitable. He looked at Michelle uncomfortably, obviously not wanting to be the one to make this kind of decision. Finally she screamed, "God dammit, Jack, do it already!"

Jack looked at her one last time and whispered, "I'm sorry." Michelle nodded courageously. Finally Jack said quietly, "Go."

Michelle threw her body down face-first on the ground, bringing a surprised Damien with her. Damien landed on top of her, and two shots rang through the tiled room.

Jack put his gun down and saw Damien with a bullet in his head, laying on top of Michelle. Suddenly he realized the second shot didn't come from his gun. He ran over to her and dragged his body off of her, to find a blood pooling out of a bullet wound on her upper-right shoulder.

Jack scooped her up into his arms and ran out of the club to the waiting helicopter. From there he radioed CTU.

"CTU, this is Jack Bauer. Lustkovitz is dead along with seven bodyguards. We have an injured agent flying back to CTU medical now, I need a team ready. We will be arriving in fifteen minutes."

Jack rushed to Michelle and flipped her over to see her face. Her eyes fluttered, unconsciousness taking over. Jack gently hit the sides of her face. "Hang on, Michelle. We're almost at CTU. Hang on, come one stay with me. Damn it!"

Her head rolled to the side. Jack ripped off the tight tube top and began to forcefully pump her chest. With every move he made more and more blood appeared on his hands from various wounds across her body.

For the entire ride back, Jack continued CPR. He had no idea if she was still even alive or not, it didn't matter; he didn't want to take the chance to find out.

When they got to CTU, Jack carried her to the gurney and continued his compressions while he updated the medics. They ran inside and Jack saw Tony standing at the entrance. He watched as his face turned from confusion into horror when he saw who they were rolling in.

Tony's face went pale. He looked down at Michelle, topless and covered in blood, and instantly threw up onto the sidewalk. He thought he was going to pass out. He keeled over and his body began to spasm.

Jack let the medics take Michelle in the OR and kneeled in front of him. "Tony…Tony, relax, you need to calm down."

Tony couldn't hold it in anymore. He looked at Jack dead in the eyes and clumsily swung at him. his anger was pouring out of his body. Immediately Jack grabbed his fist mid-air.

"God dammit Tony, look at yourself!" Tony stopped and could only hear the forcefulness of his breathing. He could feel his chest inflating like it was about to explode.

"Look, I'm sorry. We did everything we could. Michelle saved this entire operation. Damien was about to kill her when we walked in and we caught him off guard. Michelle was willing to sacrifice her life for this operation."

Tony took all of this in. "She shouldn't have had to" he whispered through a quivering chin. He thought he was going to break down again. Just as he was letting her in, she was ripped away. The scars felt fresh and new. "I should have been there to protect her, I should have done something, I should have saved her…"

"Tony, there wasn't anything you _could_ do. Michelle isn't dead yet, so don't go there…not now."

Tony looked up in confusion. "What?" he whispered hopefully. "She's still alive?"

Jack nodded gravely. "Yes. I don't know how bad the damage is, though, but she is still alive. She was shot in the back, near her shoulder…not near any major arteries. But…" Jack hesitated, wondering if he should tell Tony the rest.

"What?" Tony demanded. Jack sighed heavily. "She sustained some pretty serious injuries before we got there. By the looks of it, Damien beat her up good. And probably just for fun. We're lucky we got there the time that we did."

Tony felt tears stinging. He shook his head, stood up and paced around the parking lot. "I just don't understand!" he yelled in frustration and scratched the side of his face. "We couldn't see what was going on in there, but I've never seen an agent as quick on her feet like Michelle before. I mean, Jack I swear, _I_ was caught off guard in the training the yesterday so many times, Michelle was better than anyone could have ever expected. How can this happen? How could she not have a fighting chance against this guy? He doesn't have _half_ the training as we do. How the hell does this happen?"

Jack felt guilty, but knew he made the right decision. He had to tell his friend the truth. "Tony…I told Michelle not to fight back if Damien got a hold of her so she could keep her cover. It was what was best for the mission, we had no other choice."

Tony's eyes widened in anger once again. "What? What the fuck do you think you're doing Jack? What gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies? You had no authority in telling her to do that, Jack, this is completely your fault! Her life is on your hands now!"

Tony punched a nearby SUV, leaving it dented like his body. He ran his hands through his hair. "God damn it, you could have had her killed! What if Michelle doesn't make it through this? You had a choice, Jack."

He walked back into the office, went into the bathroom and began to cry.


	6. Chapter 6: Damaged

**Author's Note****: Thank you to all who have been reviewing, it means the world to me! It's what keeps me going :). Thanks to the many I have received, I did my best to put this chapter up extra fast. Let me know what you think!**

**Chapter 6**

_Damaged_

_That same night:_

Tony stood in the hallway outside CTU medical. He had finally regained his composure, but was a mess inside. He looked calm, cool and collected…if only he felt that way.

After a few minutes of looking over the mission's preliminary reports, a young doctor with sandy-blonde hair walked up to Tony. He was still in his scrubs and was in the process of removing a pair of bloody gloves. Tony's stomach dropped. He thought he was going to throw up again.

"Mr. Almeida?" He firmly shook Tony's shaking hand. "I'm Glen Bradford, Michelle Dessler's surgeon. I hear you're her boss, correct?"

Tony nodded, unable to speak. She was dead. He knew it.

The doctor continued. "Under normal circumstances, I would not have the authority to update you on her condition, but unfortunately it has become apparent that Ms. Dessler does not have any direct relatives within the vicinity I can speak with. I just got off the phone with George Mason, who has given me permission to make you responsible for all decisions concerning her health until someone more appropriate is found and contacted. Is that okay with you?"

Tony was stunned. He had no idea how to respond.

"Wait…she's _alive_?"

Glen nodded. "Yes, by some miracle she is. We had to place her under a medically induced coma to reduce swelling in her brain, which is why we are looking for someone to act as her 'in loco parentis' until she is capable of making decisions herself. Mr. Mason said you were the best choice…"

"God damn you, George" he grumbled under his breath.

The doctor looked nervous to be putting his patient under Tony's authority. Tony sighed heavily and replied, "No, don't worry, I'll do it."

He nodded. "Good. I'll have a nurse update you on her condition within the next 20 minutes, until then I'm going to need you to come with me and fill out some legal forms. Also, are you aware of any friends or family Ms. Dessler has within the area that we can contact?"

Tony rubbed his palm into his eyes. This was all getting to be too much. "Umm, I know her mother is dead. Friends, I don't know anything about." He stopped to think. "Michelle has a little brother, I think he lives close by, too."

Glen brightened a little. "Great. We'll try to see if we can contact him." Before leading Tony to the nurse's station to fill out papers, the doctor put a reassuring hand on Tony's arm. "And thank you for stepping up to the plate and doing this. As of right now, Ms. Dessler has no one. You're our only hope."

Over the next half hour, Tony learned the extent of Michelle's injuries from various doctors, nurses, and surgeons. She had suffered a gunshot wound to her back near the upper-right shoulder that had shattered her bone. She would most likely be in a cast for the next 8 weeks and in serious pain while the joint healed. They had taken her in for surgery when she arrived to remove the bullet; luckily, the shot was clean and missed the major arteries, but they were unsure if she would regain full mobility of her arm.

The worst of her injuries, however, were the result of a heavy beating she had apparently endured. They had found bruises all over her body, a small stab wound above her right hip, and a large cut on the back of her head. They're conclusions based upon the crime scene were that she had been thrown against the wall and a loose nail stabbed her in the side, then as she fell down she slammed her head on the tile floor, suffering a double concussion. The injury had caused severe swelling and pressure in her brain, but the doctors were optimistic that it would reduce and she would not suffer any permanent brain damage.

From the beating, Michelle suffered slight internal bleeding but they managed to get it under control without having to perform surgery. However, Dr. Bradford was concerned that she may have sustained unknown damage to her uterus and feared she would not be able to carry a child to term in the future.

This was all way too much information for Tony to take in at once. He was pretty sure he was shaking, although not positive. Why couldn't he protect her? Why hadn't he saved her? Why did he _want_ to save her?

He thought back to earlier that evening when Michelle tried to talk to him about what had happened in the locker room. He felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Tony had known what Michelle was going to say, he knew what she was really talking about…but he pretended it was about something else. He couldn't even remember the reason why he did it. He never had regretted a decision more in his life…even more than he regretted Nina. If he had just talked to her…what if she didn't make it through this?

The thought of Michelle not being able to have kids really hit Tony the hardest. Almost all of the injuries she suffered weren't permanent, they could be healed with time and patience…except that one. Michelle was so young, full of so much life, she should be able to have all of the kids in the world if she wanted to. She deserved to have that happiness if she wanted it, but what if it was taken away? Her whole life was laid out in front of him.

After flipping through his charts and papers one last time, Glen had a puzzled look on his face. "What's confusing is that there are no reported injuries to suggest any sign of a struggle, on either Mr. Lustkovitz or Ms. Dessler. It's as if Michelle just sat there and took a beating…"

Immediately Tony stood up. Now he knew he was going to get upset. He would not sit there and let the doctor remind him that Michelle endured all of this shit on her own, without any attempt of helping herself. He interrupted him midsentence.

"Can I go see her now? Is she still sedated?"

Dr. Bradford looked up at him curiously. "Um, yes the sedation should be wearing off any minute now, let us just finish cleaning her off and then you can go see her for a short time. And please, I'm asking that you don't get her upset at all, she needs this time to relax, rest, and recover."

Tony nodded. When Glen walked away he got suddenly nervous. This entire time he had been dying to see Michelle, to see she was okay with his own eyes. Now, he was terrified. He didn't know how bad of a condition she would be in, and hoped that he could hold it together long enough. The last thing she needed was to see someone she relied on as being strong break down in front of her.

He walked into Michelle's room as the nurses finished pulling the tube out of her throat. He watched with horror as her body gagged and convulsed involuntary. When the tube was finally out, she took in a deep breath and coughed. She was still heavily sedated, and the nurses told him it would be a couple of minutes before she was aware of his presence.

Tony walked in the room cautiously as the nurses left and finally looked at her. She was in a thin hospital gown under a blanket, with dozens of tubes and wires connected to her body. Her entire right side was wrapped tight with gauze from the surgery and her curly red hair had mats of dried blood clotted in it. She was hooked up to several beeping monitors, and both of her arms spewed IV lines full of drugs. He noticed that the nurses had left her hospital gown up, leaving her stomach bare. Tony saw where the nail had stabbed into her side and felt queasy. Then he saw giant bruises resembling feet scattered around her stomach, and marks the perfect size of a thumb on her arms. He looked at her stomach and reminded himself to breathe. It was completely yellow and purple from the bleeding.

Finally he looked at her face and noticed the many cuts and scrapes that overshadowed her perfect complexion. Then he saw two giant handprints around her neck where someone tried to strangle her, and he thought his knees would buckle out underneath him. His chin began to quiver and his eyes stung with tears. He desperately pressed his face into his palms and ran them through his hair. He paced the white hospital room looking at anything except her. He needed to get control, and fast. A few tears escaped and he quickly wiped them away.

Tony looked back at Michelle's sleeping figure again and slowly walked toward her. He sat down next to the bed and gently put his hand over hers. Her fingers felt like ice, and he noticed goose bumps all along her arms and neck. Gently he pulled the covers of the blanket back up on her, covering her stomach, the stab wound, and most of her chest. He tucked her in and made sure she was warm. She let out a small sigh of contentment in her slumber and Tony's heart broke. After everything she had been through, she was made happy just by being tucked in.

Tony continued to hold her hand until she began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and blinked furiously, trying to get adjusted to the bright lights and her new surroundings. Michelle tried to bring her left hand up to rub her eyes but was restrained by the tubes and needles. She jumped and felt a sudden pain in her arm. "Ugh, oww, what the hell…"

She turned to her right and saw Tony sitting at her bedside, holding her hand. "Tony?" she squinted. Her voice was hoarse and dry from the tube and she coughed. "Hey" he whispered softly. "It's okay, take it easy. Don't make any sudden movements, you'll hurt yourself.

She was completely overwhelmed. She had no idea what was happening. "What…what's going on? Where am I?"

Tony took a deep breath. "You're in CTU Medical. You just got out of surgery and are on a lot of pain meds, so please relax."

The heart rate monitor began to spike. Michelle's breathing quickened and she was suddenly very anxious and flustered. "What? Why am I here, what happened? I need to get out of here, oww ow!" she twitched at the pain in her arm when she tried to get up out of bed. Tony immediately held her down.

"Michelle, please listen to me, you need to relax. Calm down before you hurt yourself, I'm right here, everything's going to be okay, please…" Tony begged. Michelle looked at him groggily and the heart monitor began to slow.

"Sshh, shh it's okay" he soothed. "I'm right here. It's okay, I'm here. You're going to be fine." He rubbed his thumb across her hand and she let out a deep, tired sigh. She coughed again and grabbed her stomach at the pain. "Ugh, what happened? What's wrong with me?" Her voice was still hoarse and she was having trouble speaking.

He couldn't do this, this was too much…all of it. He closed his eyes and took in a shaky breath. "You were attacked last night on the mission. Do you remember anything?"

Michelle squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think. "Umm, I remember the club…dancing, the lights…then I went into the bathroom, and…." her eyes flew open. "Damien. Damien Lustkovitz was there. Tony, did you find him? Is he in custody?"

"Yes, he's dead."

Michelle's face fell. "Shit" she muttered. She shook her head apologetically. "This is all my fault. Damn it, how are we going to find the hard drive now? I'm sorry."

Tony looked at her in disbelief. "Michelle, what are you talking about? Don't be sorry at all. Without you, we wouldn't have made it this far. This entire operation _survived_ because of you and everything you did. I can't even tell you how much intel we gained from this mission, all because of you."

She shook her head. "Yeah, but the point was for him to come out alive so we could question him. God, my first undercover op and I blow it."

Tony was shocked. "I can't even believe you're saying this. Michelle, you were fantastic. Ryan and George are ecstatic, and you should be, too. You should be proud of everything you helped accomplish."

Michelle looked at him and didn't say a word but coughed again. She grabbed her stomach involuntarily, and moaned in pain. "God, it just hurts to breathe."

A tear escaped from Tony's eye. He wiped it away and hoped she didn't notice. He needed to leave, fast. He did not want to break down in front of her. She needed him to be strong. "What else do you remember?" he asked.

"The next thing I remember was Damien…kicking me, and then Jack showed up, and I heard this loud bang, and…" she looked down at her shoulder and her eyes widened. "Oh my God…was I shot?"

Tony nodded again and licked his lips. "Yes. Damien shot you in the back, and Jack shot him in the head."

Michelle squinted. "I remember…I told Jack to shoot, we worked together and I threw myself on the floor…Damien had a gun to my back. After that, everything just went dark…I remember someone carrying me, I think it was Jack? And then the sound of a helicopter. Oh my God, I was in so much pain I couldn't even concentrate." Tears fell from her eyes and she sniffed. Tony felt terrible about having to make her relive this. He should have known better, it was way too soon for this.

Tony leaned over and held her in his strong arms. He wanted to take all of her pain away, but he felt so useless. "Hey hey, it's okay, you're safe now." He held her in his arms and Michelle cried into his shoulder. Her body shook violently and quiet squeaks escaped from her hoarse throat. He rubbed small circles into her back and was gentle to avoid her shoulder and any bruises.

Michelle thought her entire body was on fire. Tony's touch, the warmth of his skin, radiated into her. Everywhere he touched, he left a mark of healing and warmth. She rested her head on his shoulder and just cried…about the pain, the guilt, the embarrassment, the violation. After a few minutes she regained control and choked out, "I really need some water. My throat is killing me."

Tony pulled away and nodded, but Michelle grabbed his hand and whispered, "Please, please don't leave. I need someone here…please." Tony's chest cracked, and he felt the warm stains from her tears touch his skin. He called in a nurse who fetched Michelle some water and Tony helped her take a few sips. After she was done she asked, "My…my voice is so raspy. Why does my throat hurt so bad?" she asked

Tony put down the cup. "The doctor's had to intubate you after the surgery to lower some swelling in your brain. You woke up right after they pulled the tube out, so your throat will probably be sore for the next few days."

Michelle looked at him with horror and another tear slipped out. "They had to…_intubate_?" her chin quivered and she looked up at the ceiling and swallowed. "This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"

Tony took her hand again. "Hey, look you're okay now. I know this is rough, but I promise you everything will be fine. I'm…I'm sorry."

She turned her head. "What? What are you sorry about?"

"That I wasn't there to protect you. That I couldn't stop that…that monster from doing all of this to you."

Michelle covered Tony's hand with the one he wasn't holding. "Tony, this had nothing to do with you. It wasn't your fault, you couldn't have done anything to stop it. I can take care of myself."

Tony looked down at the floor. "Then why didn't you?" he whispered quietly.

Michelle looked at him curiously. "What are you talking about? You think I wanted this to happen?"

"I mean, why didn't you fight back? Jack told me what happened…why the hell did you agree to something like that? You could have gotten yourself killed, you almost _died_, Michelle!" He was starting to get angry. "And you just sat there and took a beating! What the hell were you thinking?"

She was shocked. "Excuse me? Now this is all _my_ fault?"

"No, of course not! But half of this could have been prevented if you had just taken care of yourself."

"I wasn't trying to be a hero or anything! I figured you would know me better than that."

"No, that's not what I was say-"

"I did this because it was best for the mission. Thousands of lives were at stake Tony, and still are, and you said so yourself that we gained a lot of intel from this. If I had fought back who knows what might have happened? At first, I thought Jack was crazy, but he was right! Both of us see it that way, so why can't you?"

"_Because_," Tony thought to himself, "_I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt…or worse_."

Michelle continued and more tears began to slip out. She was getting really upset. She couldn't believe Tony was acting like this. "I would _never_ risk my life so I could get attention or some kind of medal. Do you think I want something like that? Don't you know me at all?"

Tony regretted ever bringing it up. He leaned over again to hug her but she pushed him away. "No. I can't…I can't see you right now."

His heart was broken. He only had wanted to comfort her, and now by saying something stupid he only upset her even more. "Michelle…"he pleaded. "You can't possibly think that. I know you would never do something like that for attention, it's just that I…" He about to empty his soul. He was going to tell her that he had feelings, deep feelings for her. That all he wanted to do was protect her. That he couldn't stand the sight of her in pain. That he would give up his life for her in an instant just so that she wouldn't ever have to suffer.

"No" she interrupted him. "I need time to think. Please, just go back to work. Find the bastards that did this and…just go."

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

She looked at him and nodded. "I know. I know you didn't mean it. And I'm not mad, really. I just need some time alone. I'm exhausted."

He understood and walked out of the room. As he headed back into CTU he couldn't help but wish the last five minutes never happened. Just as he was about to turn out of the hospital wing he heard someone yell his name.

"Mr. Almeida! Anthony, sir!"

Tony spun around to see Dr. Bradford and he rolled his eyes. He was not in the mood to talk to any more doctors. He just wanted to get out of here.

"Please, call me Tony. What can I do for you?"

"Tony, we contacted Michelle's brother, Daniel Dessler."

Tony nodded. "So you don't need me as 'in loco parentis' anymore?"

"Actually sir, that's where the problem is. Unfortunately Mr. Dessler is in a psychiatric hospital in east LA and is currently considered incompetent to make any decisions regarded his own health, let alone his sister's."

Tony's eyes widened. He had no idea Michelle's little brother was in a pysch. ward. "I see. I apologize, I wasn't aware of his condition."

Glen nodded. "We were able to speak with him on the phone, and he mentioned that Michelle does have a few close friends within the area, but other than that there is no one in direct relation to Ms. Dessler that can make decision regarding her health."

"So what you're saying is you still need me?"

He nodded. "Yes, if that's okay with you."

"No, it's fine. She doesn't have anyone else, so I'd be glad to take care of her. I was just heading back to my office to see if there have been any updates regarding the state and location of the men who did this to her."

"Good. On a lighter note, we think that we will be able to release Michelle in a few days, but we do not want her staying alone. It's best if there is somewhere she can stay for a week or two to receive the individual care that she needs until she can take care of herself."

Tony paused. He knew what Glen was implying. "Okay, I will take care of it. Thank you."

As he walked back into CTU, Tony knew he was going to take Michelle home with him. Or stay at her place. He didn't feel comfortable leaving her with any friends, especially since he had no idea who they were. Besides, this way he could keep an eye on her, make sure she was okay. For some reason, Tony felt very possessive of her. Instead of attempting to locate her friends, he sat at his desk and rang George's office.

"Y'ello, Mason."

"Screw you, George."

George couldn't help but smirk. "Oh Tony, how lovely to speak to you, too."

"Why the hell did you tell Michelle's doctor I would be the one to make decisions for her while she was incapacitated? You had no right to do that."

"Look, I really don't have time for this right now."

"I know you don't. That's why I was just calling to tell you that I'm going to be out for the next few days, possibly a week."

"WHAT?" George yelled. "What are you talking about, Tony? We are in the middle of a crisis here, you can't just back out like that! What reason could you possibly have?"

"Listen, I haven't taken a sick day or used any vacation time in over 3 years, and _you_ put Michelle under my care. She needs someone to take care of her for a few days after she's released, and there is no one else she can go with. She's my responsibility now, and I'm going to take care of her."

George was stunned. He couldn't believe that his plan had backfired.

"I'll let you know when by time off begins. If you need to reach me during that period, call me on my cell. I'll be at home." And he hung up the phone, a huge smile on his face. He'd been wanting to get at George for a long time, and he finally found a way to do it.


	7. Chapter 7: Just Friends

**Author's Note****: Eeeeep! 2 chapters up in one day! this is what happens on a long weekend with nothing to do. please review! One of my fav chapters so far, what do you think?**

**Chapter 7**

"_Just Friends"_

_The next night:_

Tony stood outside Michelle's hospital room to find her sound asleep. He hadn't seen her for a good 18 hours as things had been crazy at CTU. Plus he wasn't sure if she wanted to see him.

Dr. Bradford had just informed Tony they were ready to release her, sooner than they had planned. She was responding remarkably well to treatment, and thought she would do even better when she was more comfortable.

He walked inside the dark room and began to silently gather her things. He wanted her to sleep as long as possible before they would have to make the painful trip home. But Michelle began to stir and woke up. Tony turned on a light and Michelle looked at him, feeling very awkward about what she had said to him earlier.

"Hi" she said groggily. "What's going on?"

Tony sat on the edge of her bed. "Hey, sorry if I woke you, but I've got great news. The doctors are going to release you because you're doing so well. I was just getting your stuff together."

"That's great. I was getting tired of this place." She tried to sit up but winced. Tony immediately helped her get comfortable and put a pillow behind her head.

"But…" he continued. "They want someone to watch you for a few days while you get over this hump, so I've taken the next few days off to stay with you."

Michelle was shocked. "What? You're taking off of work to stay with me?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah. You seemed surprise…"

"Well, just slightly. It's just that you haven't taken a day off of work since I've known you, and God knows how long before that! I just forget sometimes you actually have a life outside of CTU."

Tony laughed. He needed that one…bad. "Well yes, I do. But that's okay with you? I don't know if you'd rather have a friend stay or…"

"No no, actually you're really the only friend I've made since I've moved to LA. Most of my friends are back in Seattle."

Tony was actually kind of surprised Michelle considered him a friend. He was glad, definitely, but surprised that he was the only one she had in the area.

"Are you sure you can take off for that long, though? I mean, CTU needs you here."

"Yes, I'm positive. You're right, I haven't taken a day off in 3 years, but I want to do this. And by the looks of things, CTU has this under control, at least for a few days. Besides, if a real emergency ever does come up, I'm only 10 minutes away.

Michelle smiled slightly. He hadn't seen her do that in a long time. "So…I'm going home with you then?"

"Well I had planned on staying at your place, I thought you might be more comfortable there. Unless you'd rather stay at my apartment, that's fine."

"To be honest…I'd rather be _here_ then my apartment. I hate it there. It's cold, cheap, dingy…and full of bad memories. Any place is better than there."

Tony nodded. "That's fine with me. Although I will warn you, my place is no bachelor pad either."

Michelle laughed, and clutched her stomach. "Ow, I keep forgetting about that."

"I'm sorry, I'll try to not make you laugh."

"You're making it worse, you know that, right?"

Tony winked. "I try." He stood up and continued to collect her belongings. He found the clothes she had been wearing to work the day before and called a nurse in to help her get changed. "You go ahead and get ready and I'll collect my stuff, and then we can head out."

It took Michelle over 20 minutes to get changed. Tony wondered what was taking so long, he hoped everything was okay. Afterwards she was fitted with a cast for her arm and shoulder. By the time he walked back into her room she was sitting in a wheelchair ready to go.

When he walked back into the room Michelle blushed involuntarily. "I'm sorry, this is just really embarrassing for you to see me in a wheelchair."

"No, don't be embarrassed! We'll take the back way out so no one sees you, no worries." When he wheeled her out Michelle was overwhelmed at how sweet he was being. Never in her life had someone treated her with such delicacy, such care. Tony looked at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world, and she loved it. Deep inside, Michelle knew he was a genuinely good person, and an even better man. He was more honorable and courteous than any man she had ever met.

After he helped her into the car, the ride home began with silence. It was after 11 pm, and both of them were exhausted. Finally, Michelle couldn't take it.

"I'm sorry" she blurted out. Tony looked at her confused, but before he could say anything she continued. "I'm sorry about everything. About what I said before, yelling at you. You're honestly one of my best friends Tony, and I didn't mean what I said. I was just upset, and you were too, we were both just tired. I was never mad at you, I knew you were only trying to take care of me. I was just…so overwhelmed with everything that had happened, I needed someone to take out my anger and frustration on, and you were the closest punching bag."

Tony looked at her and smiled. He took her hand in his over the SUV console. "Michelle, don't be sorry. I completely understand, I shouldn't have even said anything to begin with. I know you made the right choice, I was just being an asshole because I was frustrated too. I felt…guilty and responsible that this happened to you. And I shouldn't have made you upset while you were still trying to absorb anything. None of this is your fault."

Michelle reciprocated his smile. "Thank you" she said quietly, and rested her head against the seat cushion. She hoped Tony wouldn't let go of her hand, but did to make the sharp turn onto the highway. She folded her hand back into her lap. It had never felt so empty.

"So did the doctors ever tell you the extent of your injuries?" Tony asked.

She nodded. "Yes, after you left." She stared out the side window and began to cry silently. Tony looked over at her and saw the tears running down her cheeks. Immediately he pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway and leaned over to her.

"Hey, what's the matter, are you okay? Are you in pain? Is everything all right? Michelle, please talk to me, what's wrong?"

Michelle looked at him and it only made the tears fall faster. "I…I…"

Her entire body began to shake. Tony pulled her into him and rocked her back and forth. She convulsed even harder and Tony shushed into her ear. He rubbed her hair and whispered soothing words. Michelle pulled back and looked at him in the eyes. His intense gaze made her feel raw from the inside out. He saw right through to the depths of her soul.

"I…" she sputtered out. She ripped her eyes away from his gaze but Tony only put a hand on her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. Her insides felt like they were being shredded apart.

"The doctors told me I can't have a baby" she whispered. She buried her face into Tony's chest and he held her close, one hand in her hair, the other on her lower back. "All I've ever wanted in life…the only thing I've ever wanted…was to have a baby one day. I only wanted to fall in love…get married…and, and…"

Tony shushed her. "Oh Michelle." He pulled her back and forced her to look into his eyes.

"Listen to me; nothing is definite. The doctors don't know anything yet, so don't jump to any conclusions. You can still have a child. I promise you, you _will_ have a child in the future if you want to. Anything is possible. There are so many options out there, and you still don't know anything yet, you need to stay positive and not assume the worst, okay? Promise me."

Michelle nodded. "I promise. Thank you."

Tony hugged her one last time. "No problem. Now come on, let's grab a bite to eat and go home. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

Michelle smiled to herself as Tony pulled back onto the highway. Two minutes ago, she was an emotional wreck, and all Tony had to do was tell her to do something or believe something…and she was fine. It almost scared her how much power and control this one guy had over her.

They stopped for a burger and ate it on the ride home. Both of them were ravenous.

When they got back to Tony's place, he ran over to Michelle's side of the car and helped her out. Together, they walked slowly over to the elevator. Michelle was wobbly on her feet from the beating and hadn't walked in two days.

When they finally entered Tony's apartment, he quickly sat Michelle down on the couch and ran around trying to clean the place up. He had forgotten what a mess he had left it. Michelle observed her new surroundings and fell in love. His apartment was surprising large, yet perfectly cozy. It smelt like him and his cologne, full of comfort and warmth. It had one bedroom and one bathroom, with a big kitchen and cozy sitting area when you first walked in. The walls were painted an inviting yellow and decorated with pictures of Tony's friends and family. Michelle looked at each one and smiled. There were pictures of him as a child, at his brother's wedding, with his mother, him hanging out with some friends. She saw him graduate college, the Marines, and was captivated at a candid picture of him holding a baby. He seemed nervous and unsure, yet confident that he would provide for it. He had a huge smile on his face, and Michelle couldn't help but smile too. He seemed so natural, it wasn't anything like he was at work. She could picture Tony being a great father one day.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Tony walking back into the living room. "Okay, so I've got the bed all made, and I guess I'll give you a pair of pajamas for tonight until I get a chance to stop off at your place to pick up some stuff you'll need tomorrow. What you looking at?"

She pointed to the picture. "The picture of you holding that baby."

Tony smiled and looked at it himself. "Yeah, that's the first time I met my nephew, Joshua. He was the first baby I had ever held, I was so nervous."

Michelle smiled. "Really? You seem so natural in the photo. He's absolutely adorable."

"Yeah, he's pretty cute. He just turned 4 last month, too. I sent him one of those little black trucks he can drive around in and a plastic walkie-talkie. He kept talking about how he wanted to be a 'secret agent' like his Uncle Tony."

Michelle laughed out loud. "That's so funny. I have a niece and nephew too, and whenever I visit they make me show them karate moves."

Tony smiled and led Michelle into the bedroom. "Wait, where are you going to sleep? I don't want to take your bedroom…"

Tony interrupted her midsentence. "Don't even. The couch has a pull out bed that I'll sleep on. You missy, need to sleep on an actual bed, not a pull out or one of those stupid hospital cots, so you can get better."

Michelle smiled a little. He really was taking good care of her. The walls of the bedroom were painted a light blue and reflected the scenes of a beach. Just being in the room made Michelle feel relaxed. "Wow…you've got a really nice place here."

Tony smiled back. "Thanks. Out here is the deck…" he pointed to a sliding door. "It's really nice to just sit out there in the morning."

Then Tony began rifling through his drawers and finally pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. "Um, here I guess you can just wear these for now." He seemed to get a little awkward when he handed them to her, unsure of what to do. Michelle laughed a little to herself. He was adorable when he got embarrassed.

"Um, so would you like a cup of coffee or something? I can go put on a pot…"

Michelle nodded. "I'd love some. But before you go, though I...need a little help."

Tony stopped and looked at her. He was truly confused. Then Michelle looked down at her arm and Tony realized what she was talking about. He got a little flustered. "Oh, right, the cast. Um…"

Michelle interrupted him. "I just need a some help getting my top off, then I'm okay. Is…that alright with you?"

Tony shook his head. "No, no it's fine, I'm here to help." He walked toward her and gently tried to pull her arm out of the shirt. It took them several minutes but finally he managed to get both arms out of the shirt. His face at this point was bright red. Michelle tried to stay calm. He slowly pulled her top over her head, revealing her lacy bra and bruised stomach. He noticed that the top of her breasts had bruises on them, too. Tony did his best not to look at either and pretend everything was normal. He grabbed the large tee shirt and pulled it over her head and got both arms through. Michelle looked down at the shirt and laughed, breaking the tension that was building between them.

"Oh my God, another piece of Cubs memorabilia?" she said after she saw the cute little bear holding a baseball bat and dressed in the classic uniform. "Seriously, Tony?"

"Hey!" he said defensively. "_That_ happens to be my favorite shirt. You should feel honored you're even wearing it."

This made Michelle laugh even harder. Tony began to laugh too. Finally, they could be themselves now that the awkwardness had past. When their laughing died down Michelle looked up at him. "Thanks. I've got it from here." Tony nodded and smiled slightly, then hustled out of the door.

A few minutes later Michelle appeared in the kitchen wearing the Cubs tee and a pair of black sweatpants that were extra-large on her. She had to tie the side with a hair tie to keep them from falling down. Tony turned around from pouring their coffee and laughed at the sight of her.

"Wow. You're smaller than I thought. Those pants are _tight_ on me."

She smiled back. "Hey, not everyone is as big as you. Don't hate on the little people of the world."

He smiled as he handed her her coffee. She gratefully took the mug and sat down on his couch.

"Ugh" she grunted as she tried to sit Indian-style.

"You okay?" he asked coming over to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just still really sore."

He sat down next to her. "Did you want to take any more pain meds?"

"Nah, I already took some" she giggled.

Tony smirked. He took a sip of his coffee then took Michelle's and set it down on the table in front of them. A few minutes of silence lasted between them before Michelle tiredly said,

"Thank you."

Tony looked over at her. "For what?"

"For…that. For everything. I really appreciate you helping me out, it means the world to me. You really are a great friend."

Tony smiled softly."You're welcome. I'd help you anytime, you know that." He was…a good friend. That's what he was.

"Yes, well, I mean you're _really_ helping me out now. I'm sorry for putting you in that awkward position before, having to help me get changed and all…"

Tony interrupted her before his face turned bright red again. "Don't even mention it. I volunteered to help you out, and that's what I'm going to do. And don't think that this will make our relationship at work awkward or anything. Everyone knows you're situation, and won't think you staying here means anything more than what it is; just two friends helping each other out."

Michelle nodded. "Yes, but our relationship won't change either, right?"

Tony nodded firmly. "Of course not. We'll keep this completely professional."

Michelle took in a deep breath and winced a little at the pain. "Okay…great."

Tony smiled softly. "Yes…great."

"_Damn._" Michelle thought to herself.

"_Damn._" Tony thought to himself.

After watching a little TV Tony noticed Michelle had fallen asleep on the couch. He stood up and walked over to her. "Michelle…Michelle…"

She was out cold. "_Probably the pain meds_" Tony thought. He'd hate to wake her, it just didn't seem right. He looked back at the bedroom door and at her. He couldn't just leave her there…

After deliberating, Tony took a deep breath and scooped Michelle up into his arms. In the warmth of his embrace, she sighed and nuzzled her face into his chest. Tony looked down at her in his arms and his heart started pounding. He walked to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He tucked her in, and she moaned softly. Tony looked at her and thought his chest was going to explode. "Good night, Michelle" he whispered softly.

He walked out of the room, shut the door behind him, and took a deep breath. "_Get a hold of yourself, Almeida_" he thought.

He took off his shirt and pants and laid in the pull out bed in only his boxers, like normal. He laid there in the dark thinking about Michelle. Tony couldn't get her off his mind. He fell asleep thinking about her, dreaming about her…

He woke up with a start and heard screaming coming from the other room. Immediately he flew out of bed, threw on his pants and ran into the bedroom. "Michelle?" he yelled.

Tony saw her on the bed, screaming and writhing beneath the sheets. "No, no stop it! Don't touch me, let go of me! Please, stop, you're hurting me!"

He ran to the edge of the bed and put his hand shook her shoulder. "Michelle, wake up, Michelle!" Her eyes flew open and she sat upright. Her face was dripping with sweat, and she panted heavily. She looked like she had been running. Michelle looked fearfully at Tony, and burst into tears. Her entire body shook violently, and Tony had no idea what to do. His face held as much fear as hers did.

He sat down on the bed and held her to his bare chest. Michelle wasn't even thinking, she was scared out of her mind. She pressed herself into him and cried hysterically. She beat his chest pitifully with closed fists, and sobbed. Tony held her close to him and rocked her back and forth. "Ssh, ssh ssh. It was only a dream, it was just a dream. You're okay, I'm here, it's alright. It was just a dream." He put his face into her hair and closed his eyes. He began to cry a little, too.

Michelle felt secure beneath his muscular arms. The heat of his bare body soothed her aching heart and soul. The chill she had felt from the inside warmed as her skin did.

Soon her crying slowed to a stop, but Tony continued to rock her. Her breathing remained uneven, but Tony still held her until that died as well. Finally she fell back asleep into his chest, and Tony still rocked her. He looked down her face; it was tear stained, red, and full of pain. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her face looked like it had just seen horror. But he still held her until it relaxed and she was in a deep sleep.

Her breathing steadied but she still clung to him. Tony fell asleep, and remembered "we're good friends, just good friends…"


	8. Chapter 8: Uncharted Territory

**Author's Note: I know this chapter is super short, and I haven't updated in awhile, I'm so sorry. Things are crazy. I will try to get back to a weekly schedule as soon as I can. Please enjoy a little taste of what's to come, and don't forget to share and review!**

**Chapter 8**

_Uncharted Territory_

_The next morning:_

Michelle woke to sun shining in her eyes and pain all over her body. She blinked several times to get adjusted to the light, and felt its heat warm her entire body. She smiled in contentment and closed her eyes again, snuggling even deeper into the blankets. Sure, she was in a hell of a lot of pain, and the night started out long and restless, but she couldn't remember the last time she slept this late. It had to be past 9 o'clock, which was like mid-afternoon for her. And how couldn't she be happy when she was safe, warm, and wrapped in…

Her eyes shot open and she looked up. There was Tony, lying next to her, his arms wrapped around her. Michelle's head was laying on Tony's bare chest. He was fast asleep and…shirtless. Michelle's heart began to pound as she remembered her surroundings. She was in his bed, lying on top of him…

"Shit" she whispered and pulled herself away from him. His arms fell down like spaghetti and his eyebrows scrunched up, annoyed at being disturbed in his sleep. He cleared his throat and then laid his head back down on the pillow.

She steadied her breathing and tried to regain composure. What they hell happened last night? She remembered falling asleep on the couch, but that was it. She had no recollection of going into the bedroom. Tony must have carried her in. She felt completely embarrassed that he had done that. But did he…stay with her after tucking her in? No, there was no way he would have done…

Then she remembered waking in the middle of the night, screaming at nothing. She remembered fighting and kicking, yelling and begging for mercy. And then Tony had run into the room and brought her back to reality. She remembered grabbing onto him, pleading him to stay…there had been nothing she wanted more than for him to stay with her, to hold her, to take her pain away. And he had.

She ran her hand through her dirty and matted hair. She had just spent the night with Tony Almeida…with her _boss_. Michelle became very anxious and thought she was going to puke.

How could she have been so stupid? To let her emotions get in the way of her professionalism…_again_. She hadn't been thinking, she had just awaken from the scariest nightmare of her life, and all she wanted was him to hold her. What was this…this _crush_ she had on him? It didn't make sense. She had never felt like this for anyone in her entire life. What was she thinking? That was exactly it…she wasn't.

She sat on the bed and ran the soft sheets through her fingers. They smelled like him. She realized she had slept soundly the rest of the night after he had come in the room. What surprised her even more was that he stayed the whole night. He must've fallen asleep, because the Tony she knew would have never done that.

She slowly and painfully dragged herself out of the warm bed. She staggered over to the kitchen and figured out how to start the coffee machine. She hoped she wouldn't burn it like she did most things.

Tony woke up to the smell of burnt coffee. He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. Who was in his house making…_shit_. He jumped up in his bed and saw an empty place next to him. _Michelle_.

He ran out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, following the smell of the burnt coffee. Michelle was batting at the machine with her good arm, trying to wave the smoke away so it wouldn't set off the alarm. Tony saw the scene and laughed out loud. Michelle jumped and spun around. She became very embarrassed and blushed a bright red. "Jesus Tony, you scared me!"

He laughed, walked over to her, and unplugged the machine. "And you _scare_ me. You think you're going to stop a machine from smoking by whacking it?"

Michelle blushed even deeper, not only because he was making fun of her but also because he was standing right next to her without a shirt. "I'm sorry, okay? I tried to do something nice but apparently I set the temperature on too high or something. I saw it burning and panicked."

"I'm only teasing, you know that." He walked over to the drawer and pulled out a new coffee filter. "Remember, I'm supposed to be taking care of you, so why don't we leave everything else to me and you just concentrate on getting better, okay?"

Michelle smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Good. Now while I make a _real_ cup of coffee, how about you go get cleaned up and comfy? You probably haven't showered since…"

Michelle's face fell at the thought of the mission. Tony kicked himself mentally. He had wanted to make her forget about that, and here he was only awake a few minutes and already her mind was back on to her beating.

"I'm sorry" he said almost immediately. "I…didn't mean to say that, I wasn't thinking. I was hoping to make you feel better but…"

Michelle looked up at him. "Don't be. I know it was an accident. You're right, I need to just…purge of all of this. Besides, I really do need a shower" she smiled.

He smiled back. "Good. Now, let's see, how are we going to do this…"

Tony had come up with the idea of wrapping her arm and shoulder in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet. It took them awhile, but finally he managed to get it to stay without letting any water in.

"Perfect. I swear, I should just quit while I'm ahead and make a business out of thinking on my feet."

She laughed. "Don't get too ahead of yourself there, trust me. Someday your resourcefulness will wear off."

"God, never!" he said offended. Michelle laughed even louder. "Yeah, okay then. You just keep telling yourself that."

Tony started the shower and once again helped Michelle out of her shirt. Although it was still awkward, they had gotten used to it and tried to pretend as if everything was normal. Once she was in her bra, Tony stopped and realized she couldn't go in with it on. "Um, what did you want to do about…"

"I've got it. Really, I can do it on my own. But thank you. I can take it from here."

He smiled. "You're welcome. I'll leave a fresh pair of clothes outside the door when you're done. Then we can stop off at your place and pick up anything you need."

"Great, thanks!" She shut the door behind him and bit her lip to try to hold back a smile. God, she was out of her mind! She had been standing right in front of Tony in her _bra_, and him shirtless. She couldn't keep her emotions in any more. After a long struggle, she managed to get her bra off along with Tony's sweats and her panties. Once she was finally undressed she stood in front of the mirror and stared at her naked body. It was the first time Michelle actually had looked at herself since the surgery. For the first time she saw all of the bruises, cuts and scrapes…including the one on her neck. She saw the stab wound on her side that had been causing her so much discomfort. She saw the bruises on her breasts, ones she didn't even remember occurring. She saw the outlines of hands and feet line her arms and stomach and felt the tears silently roll down her cheeks. She took in a deep breath and stepped in the shower. After this, she was done. No more feeling sorry for herself, no more sulking in her own misery. This was her purge, her redemption. As the hot water hit her skin it left cleansing marks all over her heart and soul. This was her new beginning, her new start…whether she liked it or not.

Just as Tony finished making breakfast he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. He looked over and saw Michelle looking brand new; new clothes, wet hair, clean body…and she had a little smile on her face. This was the best part of all. He smiled back at her.

"Hey, feeling better?"

Michelle nodded in reply. "Yes, much better, thanks. The shower really did help. Although, can I ask you for one more thing?"

Tony finished distributing the food onto the plates. "Sure, whattya need?"

Michelle's face grew red again. "Well, this is actually really awkward, but um…I don't have trouble getting the bra off, it's just…"

Tony's eyes grew with realization. "Ah…I get it. Yes, that's not a problem."

He walked over to her and her blush deepened. She turned around and lifted the back of her (really his) tee shirt. Tony stared at her raw, bruised lower back.

"It's just I can't get the clasp closed."

Tony nodded and lifted the shirt up even higher, revealing her spine and unhooked bra. He reached under her shirt, ran his hands up her spine, and hooked the bra shut without looking. After he finished he settled her shirt back down and patted her back. "All done."

He walked back over to their plates of food, set them on the table and grabbed two coffees. Michelle turned around and smiled gratefully. "Thank you" she whispered.

"No problem. Now come sit and eat. You must be starving."

Michelle sat down and stared at her monstrous plate of food. Tony had gone all out; scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and toast. "Wow. This looks…delicious."

Tony smiled through a mouth full of food. "Good. I figured you must be hungry since you haven't really eaten in 2 whole days."

Michelle gave a small smile. She loved how he always thought of others before himself. "Actually, I am pretty hungry. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now eat, we need to put some fat on you."

As they ate, Tony tried to start conversation.

"So, we need to stop off at CTU so you can checked up by the doctors. Also, Ryan called while you were in the shower and wanted to get you debriefed, but I told him that you needed more time to rest."

Michelle shook her head, her wet curls falling down around her shoulders. "No, I really should get debriefed, I can't hold this off any longer."

Tony looked at her. "Are you sure you're ready for this? It's not going to be easy…"

"I know that. But if I don't do it now, I never will. I might as well get it over with."

Tony sighed. "As long as you're sure you're up to it."

"I'm positive" she replied firmly. "I need to do this."

He nodded and picked up his coffee. "Okay. I'll give Ryan a call and let him know."

"Thanks. But first, do you mind if we stop off at my place and pick up some clothes? I don't think it would be very appropriate if I walked into CTU in your sweatpants."

Tony laughed and almost spit out his coffee. Michelle laughed back at him. They made eye contact and burst out in hysterical laughter together. Michelle clutched her stomach she was laughing so hard, and Tony's face turned bright red. When their laughter finally died down, Tony wiped his eyes and Michelle tried to catch her breath.

"No…that would not be very appropriate" he choked out. "Not a problem. Do you have a suitcase or something to put everything in, or would you rather use mine?"

Michelle looked at him for a moment then stared down at her plate. "Oh. I…didn't realize you were planning on me staying that long." She turned a deep shade of red.

Tony looked confused. "What do you mean? Was there somewhere else you wanted to stay? Because I think we can both agree you are in no condition to be living on your own, at least not for awhile…"

"No, no I know. Actually, I don't have another place to stay, and I really do appreciate you taking care of me for now. I just wasn't sure how long you…wanted me here."

"Michelle, I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't want you here. Besides," he shrugged. "I enjoy the company."

Michelle smiled a little and her blush grew again. He was so goddamn cute when he was like this. Out of work, Tony was a completely different person…in a good way. He was sweet, funny, natural…completely in his element. And she loved it. She thought she had known all about him from their friendship at work, but this was totally uncharted territory. Michelle was excited to learn about it.


	9. Chapter 9: Like the Back of My Hand

**Chapter 9**

_Like the Back of My Hand_

_Later that morning:_

Michelle and Tony pulled up to her apartment in Tony's SUV.

"Here we are" Tony announced as he hopped out and hurried over to Michelle's side. She let out a shaky breath and let Tony help her out of the car. Her entire body was still sore and her head was pounding.

Tony slung his arm around her body to support Michelle as she limped to the front door. She pulled the keys out of her pocket, unlocked the door, and right before she walked inside Michelle let out another nervous breath.

Tony looked at her curiously and helped her in. Immediately Michelle turned toward the bedroom to gather her belongings and mumbled under her breath, "home sweet home."

Tony looked around and noticed the cold, chilly feel of her apartment. It was a little bigger than his, and nicely decorated, but held a depressing aura. Other than the obviously furnished surroundings, there was no personalized items: no pictures, books, pillows. It looked like she had just moved in. The walls were bare, and the room was cold.

Tony squinted in confusion and followed Michelle into her bedroom. He stopped outside the door, unsure whether to enter or not. Then he heard a soft crash and someone whisper, "shoot!"

He immediately pushed the door open and walked inside. "Michelle? You okay?"

"In here" she called from a closet. Tony opened the door and saw her on the floor, digging through piles of clothes. "I was trying to pull my suitcase out and the entire rack just fell on me."

Tony smiled to himself. "Here, let me help." He crouched down and offered her his hand. She looked up at him and took it. Tony pulled her up and placed his other hand behind her back to steady her. "You should really take it easy. You seem to forget that you're in a cast and were in a coma a few days ago."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, really. It's just so annoying that I can't do anything with this stupid thing on my arm."

"Don't you realize you almost _died_, Michelle?" Michelle looked up at him, soaking in his words. "This is serious." You need to take some time for yourself to recover. You're blowing this whole thing off like its nothing. I don't want you to get upset, and I'm glad you're not totally depressed, but what you're doing is…unhealthy."

Michelle sighed. "You're right, I guess. I'm just trying to pretend like none of this happened, because then it will go away."

Tony looked at her and pulled her in for a hug. "It's going to be okay, I promise. You'll get better, we'll get this whole situation sorted out, and everything will be fine."

Tony could feel Michelle nod on his shoulder. She sniffed and he pulled her back. "Now, let's hang that rack back up and finish packing, okay?"

After Tony finished cleaning up her closet, Michelle was anxious to get out of the apartment. "Let me get into some normal clothes quickly. Would you mind packing up this pile here, and then we can go?" After she finished her sentence, Michelle hustled toward the bathroom and shut the door. Tony smiled to himself, rolled his eyes, and stood outside the bathroom door. He waited for a few seconds before he heard her mumble, "dammit. Shoot. Tony?" she called. She flung the door open and almost jumped out of her skin when he saw her standing right in front of her. "Jeez, you scared the crap out of me!" she panted, with her hand over her heart.

Tony couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, but I knew you still needed help whether you admitted it or not. So why are you in such a rush?" he asked as he helped her with her shirt.

Michelle looked down at the floor and her face turned bright red. Tony wasn't sure whether that was from him taking off her shirt or from what she was going to stay.

"Nothing, I just hate my apartment."

"Why's that?" he pressed. Michelle had made a similar comment earlier, and Tony was dying to know. He wanted to know everything about her.

"Just stupid reasons. My old boyfriend used to live here with me, and…there's just a lot of bad memories. I never really got settled in."

Tony frowned and finally finished pulling the shirt over her head. "I'm sorry. But hey, look at the bright side: we've got this whole shirt-removal thing down to a science" he said proudly.

Michelle couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "Thanks" she whispered. Tony smiled back. "No problem. Now, um…you go get dressed" he said, referring to her lack of clothes.

Michelle's blush deepened. Tony walked out laughing and Michelle shut the door. Tony packed all of her clothes, and noticed he kept smiling to himself. He was really looking forward to spending the next week with her.

Once he was done, Tony began wandering around the apartment. It would have been a really nice place if it had been spruced up a little. Tony noticed a few photos laying around, some turned face down. They were mostly from Michelle's childhood; her and her brother, mother, father…all when she was little. There weren't any recent pictures, or any of her as a teenager. Tony thought this was odd.

"Okay, I'm ready!" he heard her call. Tony strolled back into the bedroom to see Michelle standing in blue jeans and a nice, flowery top, completed with casual sandals. Her hair, for the first time, wasn't tied back, and fell naturally on her shoulders. She wasn't even wearing makeup. She looked completely…natural. "Do you think this is appropriate to wear to CTU even if I'm not working?" she asked, throwing Tony out of his stare.

"yes, it's perfect. Rub it into Ryan's face that he has to let employees off when they have near-death injuries."

Michelle rolled her eyes and playfully hit him in the arm. "Come on, let's just go and get this debriefing over with."

Tony helped Michelle over to the car. When they reached the passenger door, Michelle tried to lift her leg to step inside but Tony saw her face flinch as she did so. She clutched her abdomen and fell to the floor.

"What's the matter?" he asked urgently, picking her up. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing" she replied, her eyes squeezed shut. "It's just my stomach…every move I make hurts really bad." She tried to take in a deep breath to calm herself but ended up keeling over again.

Immediately Tony scooped her up and sat her in the car. Michelle was so out of it she barely noticed. He worked swiftly yet carefully.

Once she was sat down Tony checked her pulse. It was slow but steady. Tony's heart began to pound but tried to keep his cool. He took one last look at Michelle. Her eyes were still squeezed shut and she struggled to take short, quick breaths. Tony forced her eyelids to open to check her pupils.

"How bad is the pain?" he asked seriously. He was desperately trying to keep calm.

Michelle opened her eyes and stared at him, swallowing. "Really bad" she choked out. "It feels like…" she grabbed her abdomen again. "It feels like something just exploded in my stomach" she panted

Tony's face went dark with worry. He wasn't a doctor, he had no idea what to do. He scratched the side of his face and went to lift up her shirt, revealing a flat stomach full of green and yellow bruises.

Tony ran his hands along the bruises, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He noticed a faint purple undertone beneath the healing green and yellow ones, something he hadn't seen before. He furrowed his brow and immediately pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

Michelle grabbed his arm and stopped him. "No, really I'm okay. I just need some more pain meds, that's all…"

"Like hell you are!" Tony said. "Michelle, this isn't normal, we have to get you back to the hospital…"

"No Tony, please stop! I can't go back there! I just…I can't do anymore of this. No more doctors, no more needles, please…" Michelle felt like she was falling apart inside.

Tony grabbed her face and forced her to look him in the eye. Her skin was so soft and smooth underneath his course palms. He held her face steady, and the firmness of his hands steadied her nerves as well. "Listen to me, Michelle. You are hurt right now. Remember what I said earlier, about you needing to take this seriously? Well now is the time. We _need_ to get you to a hospital, do you understand?"

Tony looked at her face, full of fear and worry. Michelle looked back into Tony's cool and calm eyes and tried to reciprocate. She nodded slowly.

"How about we go to CTU Medical?" he replied softly. His grip relaxed a little, and he brushed a loose curl away from her face. "Would that make you feel better?"

Michelle looked deep into his eyes. He felt them penetrating through her again, but this time she didn't turn away. He could see her, everything about her. It scared her, but breaking that moment scared her more.

"Yes" she whispered softly. "Thank you."

Slowly Tony put his hands down and backed away, breaking their moment. He felt like something had been ripped out of him when he walked away, but hadn't even realized something was there to begin with.

He jumped into the driver's side and sped out of the driveway. Every few seconds he glanced over at Michelle, who was still obviously in a lot of pain. She tried to relax herself by taking slow breaths, but every breath sent a wave of pain through her body. She moaned silently, trying to keep him from hearing.

Tony looked over at her and felt a stab in his own stomach. He instinctively grabbed her hand over the car console and Michelle turned her head toward him. Beads of sweat were gathering on her face, and she looked pale.

He squeezed her hand. "It's going to be okay. We're almost at CTU. Here, show me how much it hurts" he said gesturing toward his hand. Although he hoped this idea would help her concentrate on something else, he needed to do it for his own sanity. He was losing control, and kept flashing back to that night when he saw her body covered in blood.

Michelle did as she was told. She gripped his hand tightly and shut her eyes, trying to concentrate on anything other than the pain. "That's it, good" Tony said. He could feel her starting to relax a little. Michelle sniffed and looked over at him.

"Tony…" she said softly. Her voice was high-pitched and sounded like it was on the verge of tears. "Tony, I'm…I'm so scared" she said. Uncontrollable tears began to fall, and she was losing control. Tony gripped her hand tighter.

"It's going to be okay. I know, I know this is scary. But everything will be fine."

Michelle looked at his face, trying to believe his words. He continued to talk, he knew exactly what was going through her mind.

"I know you're trying to pretend like none of this ever happened. But after today, we can forget about it. The doctors are only going to help, and there is nothing seriously wrong with you. The pain will stop. I know…you're scared of hospitals, probably after what happened to your mother…but that's not going to happen to you. You're safe…I swear. You have to believe me, Michelle."

Michelle stared at him, forgetting about the pain. How did he know all of this? Why did he think that? It was as if he knew her better than she knew herself. His words hit her like a rock, and immediately she believed them. Just one sentence and he was able to bring her into a safe, comfortable place. How…how did he do that?

Michelle turned forward again and closed her eyes, believing everything he said. "How did you know that?" she asked quietly.

Tony looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"How did you know that I was scared of hospitals? And because of my mother…and how did you know I was trying to hide from this? I didn't even realize it myself. It's like…" she paused, unsure of whether to say it or not. "It's like you can see right through me."

Tony paused and shrugged quietly. "I don't know. I guess…I know you."

They sat in silence for the rest of the car ride, Michelle struggling not to pass out or throw up and Tony struggled to keep it together.

When they finally reached CTU, Michelle was almost unconscious. Tony hadn't even noticed because she was being so quiet, and immediately ran over to the passenger side and flung the door open. He checked her pulse, which was very slow, and carefully scooped her up. She felt so fragile, so light, and she dangled like a doll in his arms. Tony ran inside CTU, carrying Michelle like a baby, who was starting to become more aware of her surroundings by the movement.

"Come on, stay with me" Tony muttered. "Michelle? Can you hear me? Michelle, listen to my voice. You need to stay awake, open your eyes. Michelle, please open your eyes…look at me, talk to me…I need you to stay here, Chelle…you need to stay with me…"

He continued to fly across the parking lot, and Michelle began to groan and mutter in his arms. Her eyelids were half-open, and she struggled to keep them that way. Her body was wet with cold sweat.

"There you go" Tony said. "That's it, keep talking to me, Chelle. Can you hear me? Blink for me, squeeze my hand."

Tony pushed the door to CTU open with his shoulder and sprinted threw the bullpen and main office toward medical. Everyone stared. "I need help!" he yelled. His heart was pounding, adrenaline coursing through his system.

Ryan and George were in the conference room, waiting for them to arrive. When they saw Tony fly through CTU, they stood up, obviously confused. Tony glanced at them and didn't even look back, but continued running toward medical.

He kicked the door to medical open, and ran toward the nearest gurney. Tony carefully laid Michelle's limp body down, and touched the side of her face; it was burning up. Michelle responded to his gesture by moving her face toward his hand, yearning for a gesture of comfort. Keeping his hand on her cheek, Tony pushed the gurney toward the nearest emergency room. She moaned, struggling to stay awake, and Tony continued to talk to her. Inside the room, he found a doctor and nurse, discussing a patient file. They spun around when he entered.

"I need help" he panted. "Now. I don't know what's wrong with her, she just collapsed…"

Tony recognized the doctor as the one who treated Michelle. Glen recognized them too and spurred into action. He checked Michelle's pupils and listen to her heart through a stethoscope. His face turned serious and waved a nurse to set up a table.

"Ms. Dessler?" he asked. "Ms. Dessler, I need you to stay awake."

The nurse hurried over with a thermometer and checked her temperature: 103.4. The nurse's eyes widened and she showed it to the doctor. Tony stood feet away, watching in horror. He had no idea what to do. He had been able to keep control when he had something to do, but now he was helpless.

"What happened, Mr. Almeida?" the doctor asked, throwing him back into reality. Tony stared at him at a loss for words. "Tony" the doctor repeated. "What happened?"

Tony opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come out. He ran both his hands through his hair in frustration and began pacing anxiously. "I don't know," he said. "We were getting in the car to come here, and when she tried to step in all of a sudden she grabbed her stomach and fell over."

Glen squinted curiously and lifted up Michelle's top. Tony glanced over Glen's shoulder and noticed her once green and yellow bruised stomach was now completely purple. "Oh my God" Tony whispered. He thought he was going to puke again.

Glen put his stethoscope against her stomach and Michelle flinched at the cool metal on her bare skin. Her eyes shot open and she shivered. "Tony…" she muttered softly. Tony ran to her head. "It's okay, Chelle…just stay still. We're at CTU, the doctors are taking care of you…" he placed his hand on her cheek again, which felt even warmer than before. Her cheeks were now bright red rather than pale white. Michelle's body shook violently.

"Tony, I'm so….cold" she gasped. Tony scanned the room and grabbed a handful of blankets off the hospital bed. Carefully, he wrapped her shivering body in them like a cocoon, keeping her stomach bare for Glen to examine.

"Sharon!" Glen yelled suddenly. He threw the stethoscope back over his neck and a nurse ran in. "Get an ultrasound tech down here, 20 cc's of morphine, and whatever antibiotics we have in stock." Glen began to push Michelle into another room. Tony grabbed the gurney.

"Wait, where are you going? What's going on?"

Glen sighed and let the nurses run about as they prepared. "I think Michelle's internal bleeding may have been worse than we expected. And she may have an infection from the surgery that is causing her temperature to spike."

Tony was at a loss for words. "Wh…what? How do you screw up on things like that? I thought you said she was fine!"

Glen rolled his eyes. "Look Mr. Almeida…sometimes things happen that are out of our control. No one can predict things like this, and I never made any promises. Either we can stand here bickering over this or you can let me help her. Which will it be?"

When Tony didn't respond, Glen walked out of the room. Tony scanned the room, looking for anyone else. He was left alone with Michelle on the gurney, wrapped up in blankets and shivering. He stared at her bare, purple stomach and felt sick. Trying to feel of use, he covered her exposed abdomen with the blanket, and rubbed her arm to help her warm up. Michelle languidly opened her eyes.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Tony avoided her stare but continued to look down at his hand. "The doctors think you may still be bleeding internally. I think they're going to do an ultrasound."

Michelle nodded and her head rolled to the side. "Michelle?" Tony said. He gently cupped the sides of her face. "Michelle, stay with me." He tapped her cheeks. "Come on, Chelle…"

Glen came barging back into the emergency room and nurses rolled Michelle into another room.

"We're going to take her for an ultrasound and do a few tests, I'll call your desk in about 30 minutes?" Glen asked.

Tony hadn't even considered going back into CTU. '_It's probably best_' he thought. "Yeah, sure" he replied. "Just let me know as soon as you learn anything."

Glen nodded and walked away briskly. Tony stood staring at the swinging door for a minute, not wanting to leave. What if she needed him? What if she got scared again? He shook his head and walked away. '_The doctors will call if anything happens_' he reassured himself. '_She'll be fine_.'

As soon as Tony walked back into CTU, Ryan and George bombarded him with questions. Tony did not want to talk about it and continued to walk straight toward his desk. He picked up the phone and pretended to dial someone. "Tony!" Mason shouted. "What the hell happened?"

Tony slammed the phone back down on the receiver. "I don't know, George!" he yelled angrily. "I don't know what's wrong, we were on our way here, and Michelle just collapsed. They think she's bleeding internally, she could have an infection…I don't know what the hell I did wrong, so just leave it alone!"

Ryan stared at him with disbelief. "You will not speak to your superiors like that, Tony. You know better than to…"

Mason put his hand up. "Ryan, take it easy. Tony's just upset. Give 'em a minute, will ya?" Tony glanced at George and thanked him quietly, even though his blood was still boiling. He sat down and put his head in his hands, messing up his hair. After smoothing it down again, he looked straight ahead.

"I don't know what happened, she was fine this morning. She just keeled over, and on the car ride here she got a really high fever and her stomach turned purple…by the time we arrived, she was practically unconscious and I had to carry her into medical."

Ryan sighed. "Well this is great. I came in for a debriefing and now our key witness is unconscious. This report needs to be into Division by tomorrow morning."

Tony stared him hard in the eyes. "Are you kidding me, Ryan? Michelle almost died and you care about your _report_ to _Division_?"

George thought Tony was about to blow, so he pushed Ryan back into the conference room to call Division and tell them about the delay. When he came back, George sat down next to Tony.

"Look Tony, I get it, okay? You're pissed, this whole thing sucks. But there's nothing you can do about it, and none of it is your fault…so _get over it_. For the last time, you pull it together or you're out of the job. Do you understand?"

Tony nodded solemnly. "Yes."

George stood up. "Good. Well, since you're here, why don't you get a heads up on the active protocols?"

Tony stared him down.

"Hey" George responded defensively. "You never really get a day off as Chief of Staff at CTU. Get to work."

Tony was about to call George out as he walked away, but realized it wasn't worth the battle. He would end up doing it anyway, and it wasn't the work that bothered him…it was George's nonchalant attitude that really pissed him off. He sighed. '_I could use the distraction_' he thought, and began to work. Twenty minutes later, his desk phone rang.


	10. Chapter 10: Maybe This Time

**Author's note****: hi again everyone! I missed you all, I know it's been awhile (sorry to leave you hanging with that cliff hanger). I've been suffering from some severe writers block/lack of inspiration. I have SO many great storylines in mind, but none of them are ready for this part of their relationship, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEE tell me if you think I should continue with this story. I wanted this to be something great, but now I'm wondering whether I should just forget it and work on other little 'ficlets', so please tell me what you think. Also, I absolutely love the ending of this chapter, maybe you won't, but let me know any way (I came up with it as I was writing and fell in love with it, so tell me if you like it as much as I do :D). anyways, enjoy! **

**PLEASE READ! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**

**Chapter 10**

_Maybe This Time_

Tony immediately picked up the phone. "Almeida."

"Mr. Almeida, this is Glen Bradford, Ms. Dessler's physician in CTU Medical…"

"Yes" Tony interrupted. "I know who you are. How is she?"

"Would it be possible for you to come down to medical for just a few minutes to go over her condition?"

Tony felt sick. "What happened? Is she okay?" he demanded. There must be something seriously wrong, or else the doctor wouldn't have asked to speak to him in person.

"Yes sir, she's _alive_, if that's what you mean. But I need you to come down and sign a few papers before I can debrief you on her condition. You still are her 'in loco parentis,' and…"

"I'll be right down" Tony muttered and slammed down the phone. "Stupid legality" he grumbled and flew out of his chair toward medical. He went from walking, to jogging, to practically sprinting through the bullpen past George's office. Mason looked down and saw Tony running, so he called down to him through the open door,

"Tony? TONY? Where are you going?"

"To get updated on Michelle's condition. Dr. Bradford called me down" he called, not even turning his head.

He continued to run to medical and threw the door open. He spotted a sandy-blonde at the nurse's desk and stopped him. "Dr. Bradford" he panted. "How is she?"

Before the doctor could speak, Tony had to fill out a clipboard full of forms. He was really starting to get angry that no one would tell her about her condition. Once he was finished, Dr. Bradford sat down next to him.

"It turns out my theory was correct" Glen said gravely. "Michelle's internal bleeding was worse than expected, and she did retract a staph infection from the surgery."

"How bad is it?" Tony asked nervously. Maybe he didn't want to hear this.

"Sometimes bleeding can be too small to pick up initially, and can either heal on its own or continue to get worse until it is addressed. In Michelle's case, she had a minor puncture wound on her spleen that probably would have healed on its own, but something caused the tear to widen. You said she complained about the pain when you were about to leave?"

Tony nodded and felt sick. He knew it…it was all his fault.

The doctor nodded as well. "She probably made a sudden movement that stretched the wound and caused it to widen."

"She, um…when she lifted her leg to get in my SUV, she fell over and grabbed her stomach…"

"That may be the source then. Michelle probably over-stretched her abdominal muscles, and bled out internally."

Tony put his head in his hands. He should have seen this coming, this was entirely his fault. Why couldn't he have just picked her up and put her in the car himself? Then all of this could have been prevented…the nurses told him Michelle should take it easy, why didn't he listen? Dr. Bradford could tell Tony was very upset.

"Mr. Almeida, let me assure you that this is not something that can be predicted. None of your actions contributed to this in anyway. Everything you've been doing so far is perfect…providing her with the care she needs, assuring her safety… sometimes this kind of thing happens without our control…in fact, your actions probably saved her life."

Tony looked up at the doctor, and he nodded in affirmation.

"Yes. She was brought in soon enough that we were able to repair the wound and stop the bleeding without surgery, and because of your quick thinking, we avoided a transfusion. It's very fortunate you've been around lately."

Tony still didn't fully accept the doctor's confession. Glen could sense this, and decided to continue with the diagnoses.

"Also, like I said…Michelle contracted a staph infection from the surgery. We caught it early enough that general prescription antibiotics should have her back to normal within a week at most."

"So…that's what the fever was from?"

"Yes. Ms. Dessler did have a dangerously high fever…at one point it spiked to 104.1, which is why she was so groggy and practically unconscious at times. Unfortunately, that is one of the characteristics of staph infections, especially one of this size and severity. Luckily, she didn't retain any long-term damage from the temperature, although she may be more sore than usual for the next few days. We're sending her home with a higher dose of pain killers to help."

"Wait, you're sending her home? Already?"

Glen hesitated. "We'd like to keep her here overnight, just to be sure she's stable, but I think Michelle will have a faster and less-painful recovery if she's in a comfortable environment, not a hospital bed. She's been through a lot of trauma within the past week, both physically and Medical will just be a constant reminder of all she's been through. If she's released to a place where she's more relaxed, then her body can focused on getting better. And by release, I mean…"

"Coming home with me, I know" Tony interrupted.

"Is that…still okay with you?"

"Yes, of course it is!" Tony said. "Staying with me is not a problem; I just want to make sure that she's okay before you send her home again. I don't want to have another day like today."

"I understand, sir. And I can assure you, that nothing like this should happen again. In fact, I believe Michelle's making excellent progress. We just did an x-ray and removed her cast. She'll need to be in a sling for awhile, but her arm has completely healed, even faster than we expected."

Tony nodded. "That's…excellent" he said. Thank God, finally some positive news.

"Yes. We just put her on a sedative to help her relax, but she may still be awake if you'd like to go visit her."

"Yes, please!" he said eagerly.

Tony walked into the room to see Michelle hooked up to fewer wires than before. She already lay fast asleep in her hospital bed, her wet hair strewn across the pillow. Her breathing was slow and deep, and a heart monitor beeped rhythmically. Tony was so glad to see her relaxed. He had been able to tell earlier that just breathing was extremely difficult. Now, she was fast asleep with no nightmares, no cast on her arm, and breathing deeply. She looked so peaceful, Tony didn't want to disturb her from that.

Dr. Bradford followed Tony into the hospital room. "Ah, I see the medication kicked in. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to speak with her before she fell asleep."

Tony shook his head and continued to look at Michelle's still body. "Don't be. She's finally feeling better…I'm glad. She needs this…badly." Tony was captivated, watching her chest rise and fall, the rosiness of her smooth cheeks. Some time passed before the doctor walked in again and interrupted Tony from his thoughts.

He scratched the side of his face and decided it was best for him to leave. "Look, I'm not going to be productive just standing here, so why don't you call me at my desk when she wakes up?"

Glen nodded. "Will do. Have a good day, Mr. Almeida."

When Tony walked back into CTU, he realized over 45 minutes had past. '_Wow…I must have been standing there a long time'_ he thought.

Immediately he was bombarded with questions from George. Once Tony finished updating him, he walked back over to his desk and put his head in his hands. It was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon; nothing had been done, and Tony was exhausted. He tried to distract himself by getting to work.

Two hours had past. Tony was done with all of his duties, and every five minutes he found himself staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring. "It's like I'm waiting for water to boil" he grumbled. He stared at the pile on his desk. He _could_ take advantage of the time and work ahead. '_Nah'_ he thought. Tony never planned ahead like that, especially when it came to paperwork. After contemplating for a few minutes, Tony ran out to his SUV and picked up a couple burgers, fries and cups of coffee from McDonalds. He drove back to CTU, and snuck into medical. He easily slipped past the nurses' station, quietly entered Michelle's room, and shut the door. When he turned around, he was shocked to see Michelle in the same position she had been in 3 hours ago.

'_Wow'_ he thought. '_She's so tired, she hasn't even moved_.'

The color had returned to her face, and her breathing was still deep and steady. Tony sat down beside her bed, smelling the food. He was starving, but didn't want to eat without her, so he put it off to the side and decided to wait until she woke up. Tenderly, Tony stroked Michelle's hand. It was soft and smooth, and he picked it up in his own. His thumb gingerly caressed hers. '_I can't do this_' he thought. '_I can't wake her up…not now._'

Michelle slowly opened her heavy eyelids and let out a deep groan. They felt like weights. Blinking a few times, she awoke to a dark blue room in a very uncomfortable bed. '_Where am I_?' she thought. Then she recognized the room as the same one in CTU Medical that she had been in merely days before.

"Crap" she grumbled. What the hell happened? She tried to think back, to whatever she remembered…she remembered breakfast…at Tony's house. Tony? Where was he? Was he hurt, like her? Did they get into an accident or something? She remembered feeling a sharp pain, and then everything went fuzzy from there. She had been in the car. Then she remembered Tony talking to her, about something…he had carried her at some point. And she had been laying in a gurney, too. What was going on?

Michelle tried to lift her body out of the bed, but felt a weight on her leg holding her down. "What the…" Before she said anything, she recognized a head full of curly, black hair on her thigh.

"Tony?" she said. He was asleep, his hand holding hers. Michelle glanced around the room nervously and spotted a clock. '9:34' it read.

"Oh my God" she whispered. She slipped her hand out of his palm and gingerly rubbed his head. "Tony" she said. Her fingers ran through his thick, curly hair, and she felt a pang in her chest. Michelle couldn't tell if it was from an injury…or not. "Tony" she repeated. His head lifted up and looked around. Then he turned toward her and jumped. "Oh, you're awake!" he stated. He sat back up in his chair, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?" he grumbled.

"9:30" she replied.

Tony let out a laugh. "Seriously? Sorry about that, I must've fallen asleep."

Michelle smiled a little. "That's okay. What…happened? What's going on"

Tony told Michelle everything, starting from the car ride there. Throughout the story, Michelle seemed to get nervous, so Tony made sure to leave out some minor details to make her feel better.

"And I guess you've noticed by now, you don't need a cast anymore!"

Michelle looked at her arm and smiled. "Yeah, I saw. Thank God _something_ good came out of all of this."

Tony nodded. "Anyways, Dr. Bradford thinks you'll be ready to go home as soon as tomorrow afternoon. Seems like this kind of thing is pretty average, so no need to panic."

Michelle smiled softly and nodded. "Thanks" she said quietly. "You know, you really didn't have to stay this entire time. You're obviously exhausted, since you practically passed out on my bed. You should have gone home."

Tony smirked. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was planning on waiting until you woke up, but I guess my adrenaline all just wore out at once and…I did too."

Michelle laughed, for the first time that entire day. Tony was so glad to finally see her smiling again. He'd give anything to make her happy.

"And you'd think I'd leave you alone here? After everything that happened? You were so scared before we left, and you've been through a lot today…heck, you scared the hell out of me a few times."

Michelle looked at him curiously. "_I_ scared _you_?" she replied in disbelief.

"Well, yeah, you did. You should have seen yourself…not to freak you out, but you were pretty out of it at times. I ended up carrying you into CTU, practically unconsciously. Honestly…I thought you were dead."

Michelle remained silent and stared at the blanket on her lap. "Seems like that's the second near-death experience I've had this week."

"You scared a lot of people these week" Tony admitted. "But none of that is your fault, you know that, right?"

Michelle nodded. "Good" he said. "Because I don't know how much more of this rescuing stuff I can do. I mean, come on, can't you give a guy a break?"

Michelle smiled and her stomach growled loudly at the same time.

"Which reminds me…" Tony pulled out the bags of food and cups of coffee. "Ta-da!" he stated proudly. "Actually, I picked these up hours ago, so it's probably not a good idea…"

"Oh no!" she interrupted. "No, really I'll eat _anything_ right now" she said eagerly. "I don't care if its days old, honestly."

Together, they ate cold burgers and fries, but it tasted like the best meal ever because they were so hungry.

Once they finished, Michelle kept asking about the status of protocols in CTU.

"Michelle, you're in a hospital bed right now, and there's no immediate crisis. Don't worry about what's going on in CTU."

"Really, I want to know. It helps me concentrate on something else, instead of just sitting here feeling sorry for myself."

So for the next hour, Tony updated her on the current situation. But even he was starting to get frustrated.

"Can't we talk about anything besides work?"

Michelle giggled at his impatience. "Wow, Jack was right…you really are impatient."

Tony smirked. "When did he say that?"

Michelle blushed. "When I first started here, Jack introduced himself to me, and showed me around a little. Once I told him I was the new IPM, he laughed and said I'd be working with Anthony Almeida, the best boss with the worst temper."

Tony laughed aloud. "Jack's such an instigator; he knows exactly how to push my buttons." He took a sip of cold coffee. "But that also means we can predict each other's moves, which is necessary for this job, especially when you're out in the field."

Michelle nodded in agreement. "I can see that, just from the time I've been here."

"_And_ he called me Anthony?" Tony commented.

Michelle smiled again. "Yeah. Actually, he told me that was your name, but I noticed everyone else called you Tony, so I figured I'd do the same."

"Sounds like he was setting you up."

"I think he was," she laughed. "Obviously he wanted me in the job."

"Nah, that's just Jack's twisted way of welcoming you into the office. He tries to get every new employee to do something stupid, but hey, it looks like you didn't fall for it."

"I guess not."

"So…" Tony stated. It was 11 o'clock and both of them were exhausted, but he had thoroughly enjoyed talking with her.

"Tell me more about Buenos Aires," Michelle said. "Or about growing up in Chicago."

Tony looked at her strangely. Michelle hoped he wouldn't be able to tell that she was trying to distract him from leaving.

"I've told you most of my childhood when we were training. How about you? You grew up in Seattle, right?"

Michelle nodded. "Yeah, I moved there when I was 4. I actually lived in Nebraska before that, but hardly remember any of it."

"Nebraska? Wow. Do you have any family there?"

"Just an aunt and uncle, but I hardly ever see them. The only thing I remember from Nebraska is that I had a horse when I was little. My parents got her for me for my third birthday. I named her Starr, because I used to love to go outside in the middle of the night and stare at the stars. I used to watch her jump, and it reminded me of a star twinkling in the sky. We had to sell her when we moved, but Danny and I used to play with her all the time."

Tony remembered what the doctor had said about Michelle's brother, Danny. He desperately wanted to know why he was in a psychiatric hospital, but realized it was none of his business. Michelle had no idea Tony knew…heck, she may not even know herself…but he realized it was in her best interests to leave it alone.

Tony could tell that even at the mention of Danny's name, Michelle grew very quiet. '_She_ _must know then_' he thought. He tried to pretend as he hadn't noticed.

"So, what's the first thing you want to eat when you get out of here?" he said in an attempt to distract her.

Michelle looked up at him. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Well, besides breakfast this morning, you haven't had a home-cooked meal in days; your diet has consisted of hospital rubber and fast food."

Michelle laughed. "That's what my _normal_ diet consists of. Breakfast today was the first _real_ meal I've had in awhile."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember when I burnt the coffee this morning? That is just a _glimpse_ at what my real cooking is like. Honestly, I'm helpless. Everything I cook ends up burning, setting off a smoke alarm, or tasting awful."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad."

"Oh, trust me…it is. I tend to stick towards fast food, take out, or microwavable meals with very simple instructions, otherwise I'd starve."

"How can you survive on junk like that?"

"Simple; I skip breakfast, go out for lunch, and get take out for dinner."

Tony stared at her in disbelief. "So you don't cook for yourself? Or ever make a meal?"

Michelle shook her head. "I guess it's hard for you to believe unless you have my talents of burning down kitchens" she replied. "When you have my abilities, you're forced to learn how to survive…simple Darwin evolution theory."

Tony laughed at her candid response. "Well, _that_ certainly has to change. Tell ya what; when you leave tomorrow, I'll make a nice, homemade dinner as a 'welcome back' present."

Michelle smiled. "Sounds good. A 'welcome back' meal even though I've only been gone for a few hours. But don't put yourself through too much trouble. I really appreciate the gesture."

Tony smirked, kicked off his shoes and plopped his feet on the bed. "You're so proper, even out of work. Trust me, just because I'm your boss, doesn't mean you have to tip toe around me. Really, Jack was right when he said I'm easy-going. I don't slack off, but I'm certainly no Ryan Chappelle. Just relax…and be natural! I've seen you much less tense than this."

Michelle was stunned at his statement. He was so…collected and calm out of the office. She was really starting to like everything about him; his personality, his professional and casual demeanor. He was relaxed, sarcastic, and funny, but never cocky. He cared about everyone, which was obvious since he was sitting at his employee's hospital bedside at 11 o'clock at night. Never had she met someone that would let them stay at their apartment, take off of work, and take care of someone they had just met months before. Tony was a great guy…inside and out.

She finally admitted to herself the feelings she had towards him. Every time he was near, Michelle's heart sped up. When he touched her, even the slightest, most appropriate gesture, Michelle felt like every nerve in her body was on fire. She felt a wave of burning emotions and passion come over and immerse her in everything…him. He was sexy, sweet…which made him even _more_ sexy. He had the most muscular body Michelle had ever seen…he was almost too perfect.

'_Stop it' _she thought to herself_. 'This is ridiculous….Tony is your _boss_. It's not even a possibility. And you're not ready yet. You're still battling demons of your own, you're not ready for a relationship again. He's way out of your league anyway…don't even try'_ said her brain.

'_Do it_' said her heart. '_Make the most out of your life. Do you really think you're ever going to meet someone like him again? What would you do if you lost this chance? Don't live with that regret…give your best shot, what have you got to lose_?'

"Your job" she whispered to herself.

"What?" Tony asked.

Michelle's head shot up and her cheeks flamed red. "Nothing" she stammered.

"Alright then. Well, I better be heading home. See ya tomorrow, Michelle."

"Night Tony" she replied softly. "Thanks for everything" she whispered once he was out of earshot. Michelle watched his figure as it lingered at her doorway then continued to walk through the hallway. '_Maybe'_ she stated to her heart. '_Maybe one day..maybe this time._'

All she kept thinking about was a song she remembered her mother used to play when she was real little. Her mother loved to play old records on her grandmother's phonograph. Whenever her father wasn't home, she'd blast songs from Broadway musicals and hits from the 40's and dance with Michelle and Danny all over the house. She remembered their favorite song from the old Broadway show _Cabaret_. Michelle closed her eyes and could vividly remember a day when she was four, and Danny wasn't even born yet. She had bright, curly ringlets like her mother, and they danced and twirled in their socks on the kitchen floor. She was wearing her favorite blue dress, and her mother was in jeans and a sweater. She remembered the gentle smell of her perfume, the softness of her hair. She remembered watching her mother pull out an old record from the shelf and blow dust off the aging cover.

"_This" she had said, "was my favorite song when I was your age."_

Michelle had watched in awe and studied her moves as she carefully placed the black circle in the big, shiny machine. A loud piano had filled her ears, and she giggled when her mother slid across the floor and sang off-pitch with the lady.

_Maybe this time, I'll be lucky__  
><em>_Maybe this time, he'll stay__  
><em>

"_Come on, Michelle! Dance with me, baby" _her mother had said.

She had loved the sound of her mother's voice. She had smiled and run into her open arms. Together they had danced and danced, twirled and sang. They tickled each other and had the time of their lives.

_Maybe this time__  
><em>_For the first time__  
><em>_Love won't hurry away___

_He will hold me fast__  
><em>_I'll be home at last__  
><em>_Not a loser anymore__  
><em>_Like the last time__  
><em>_And the time before___

_Everybody loves a winner__  
><em>_So nobody loved me;__  
><em>_'Lady Peaceful,' 'Lady Happy,'__  
><em>_That's what I long to be__  
><em>_All the odds are in my favor__  
><em>_Something's bound to begin__  
><em>_It's got to happen, happen sometime__  
><em>_Maybe this time I'll win_

When Michelle opened her eyes, they were filled with tears. She blinked and rubbed them away, wishing for anyone, especially her mother, to hold her again. She looked back at the doorway from which Tony had left, and wanted nothing more than for him to come back.

"This time…I'll win" she whispered as more tears streamed down her face.

_**PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! :)**_


End file.
